Descriptive analysis for wine quality experts determining appellations by Chardonnay wine aroma

Since producer based sensory analysis of wine appellations remains in widespread use worldwide by wineries, modem sensory methods were developed for industry judge panels. U.S. appellations were studied using modem sensory analysis processes which accommodated the industry professionals' biases for perceived quality and provincial sensory language. A panel was assembled comprised of wine industry quality experts (n = 26). First, judge quality biases were determined using a multi-wine preference-testing method (n = 48) in which judges freely record their aroma terms. Subsequently QDA(R) type strategies were used to create the sensory language from analysis of 1100 wine x judge interactions in which free use of terms was used to describe the wines. Next, an experiment analyzed the wines using a new descriptive analysis scorecard which contained the ten most frequently used terms; and scores were computed from the number of times terms were selected by the judges (frequency of use). Groups of sixteen wines, for which the judges had no large negative bias, from the Carneros American Viticultural Areas (AVA), were compared to those from California wine growing regions (Central Coast, Napa and Sonoma). Replicate trials showed Carneros AVA and Central Coast wines clustered in the principal components (PCA) analysis of the sensory data. The detection of regional typicalness by professionals: (1) was linked to their perceived quality bias, (2) wits easily detected in high quality wines linked to grape attributes more than to winemaking attributes, and (3) was not possible when judges had determined that perceived wine quality was low. ANOVA and polar spider plot analysis of the clusters indicated that the important aroma attributes of Carneros wines included Citrus and Green Apples/Pears. Lastly, the sensory analysis data was compared to chemical analysis of terpenes for several wines (n = 22). Chardonnay terpene (linalool) concentrations were highly correlated (p < 0.01) with the attribute scores for Citrus which was important in the PCA analysis of the sensory data. These sensory processes offer a descriptive analysis process that accommodates the wine industry professional. The method also offers several advantages over flavor profiling methods including the reduction of the potentially confounding problems of ''quality'' and ''standard terms'' among industry professionals as well as speed and correlation with chemical analyses.