Exploratory analysis of the sensory attributes of american grape juice blends

Grape juices are blended in order to balance the organoleptic characteristics of juice, as well as to reduce off-season costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of consumers, through sensory analysis, of ‘Bordô’, ‘Niagara Rosada’, ‘BRS Nubia’ and ‘Isabel’ grape juices and their blends. The experiment was conducted during two periods. In the first, the grape juices analyzed were: ‘Niagara Rosada’ 100%, ‘Bordô’ 100%, ‘Isabel’ 100%, ‘Isabel’ 90% + ‘Bordô’ 10% and ‘Isabel’ 80% + ‘Bordô’ 20%. In the second, the following juices were evaluated: ‘Bordô’ 100%, ‘Niagara Rosada’ 100%, ‘Bordô’ 75% + ‘Niagara Rosada’ 25%, ‘Bordô’ 50% + ‘Niagara Rosada’ 50%, ‘Bordô’ 25% + ‘Niagara Rosada’ 75% and ‘BRS Nubia’ 100%. The juices were obtained by the ‘Welch’ process by steam entrainment. For the sensory evaluation, six tasters evaluated the following attributes in each period: color, aroma, flavor, body and overall acceptability, using a 7-point hedonic scale. The ‘Niagara Rosada’ juice 100% presents low acceptance, while the ‘Bordô’ and ‘Niagara Rosada’ juices up to 1:1 (v:v) show high acceptance, as well as ‘Bordô’ and ‘Isabel’ blends, confirming the importance of ‘Bordô’ juice for grape juice blends. The ‘Nubia’ juice 100% may be an alternative for grape juice blends due to its intense color.