Perceived minerality in sauvignon blanc wine: chemical reality or cultural construct?
International audience; The study aimed to determine the relationship between perceived mineral character in wine and wine chemical composition. We investigated the sensory properties and chemical composition of sauvignon blanc wines from two major sauvignon-producing countries, New Zealand and France. Sensory experiments employing 16 wines (8 French, 8 New Zealand) were conducted in Marlborough, New Zealand and in three regions of France, namely Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Sancerre/Loire region. Wine professionals (31 New Zealanders and 32 French professionals) sensorially characterised the 16 wines under three conditions, bouquet only (ortho-nasal olfaction), palate only (nose clip condit…
The nature of perceived minerality in white wine: preliminary sensory data
International audience
Perception of mineral character in Sauvignon blanc wine: inter-individual differences
Revue non indexée dans le JCR.; Of the descriptors employed to characterize wine organoleptically, minerality is arguably one of the most enigmatic. The aim of the work described in this article was to delineate the nature of perceived minerality in Sauvignon wine, specifically its sensorial reality for experienced wine professionals from France and New Zealand. Participants evaluated 16 Sauvignon blanc wines (8 French; 8 New Zealand) under three conditions, ortho-nasal olfaction, palate only (Nose-clip condition), and by full tasting (global perception). Data from the global condition only are reported here. Key results include: i) that although there were quantitative differences in perce…
The evocative notion of minerality in wine: Sensorial reality or smart marketing
chapitre dans des actes de colloques; absent
Expectation or Sensorial Reality? An Empirical Investigation of the Biodynamic Calendar for Wine Drinkers.
International audience; The study's aim was to investigate a central tenet of biodynamic philosophy as applied to wine tasting, namely that wines taste different in systematic ways on days determined by the lunar cycle. Nineteen New Zealand wine professionals tasted blind 12 Pinot noir wines at times determined within the biodynamic calendar for wine drinkers as being favourable (Fruit day) and unfavourable (Root day) for wine tasting. Tasters rated each wine four times, twice on a Fruit day and twice on a Root day, using 20 experimenter-provided descriptors. Wine descriptors spanned a range of varietal-relevant aroma, taste, and mouthfeel characteristics, and were selected with the aim of …
Perception of quality and complexity in wine and their links to varietal typicality: An investigation involving Pinot noir wine and professional tasters
International audience; Quality and complexity are abstract terms employed frequently to describe a wine's overall attributes. In the present study, we investigated: (i) attributes driving wine professionals' judgments of quality and complexity in Pinot noir wines; (ii) the relation between these two abstract concepts; and (iii) association of each concept with varietal typicality. Twenty-two wine professionals evaluated 18 New Zealand Pinot noir wines in both clear and opaque glassware via two sensory tasks, a descriptive rating task and an 8-attribute, perceived complexity questionnaire. Sensory data were associated with wine UV-spectrophotometry colour measures to aid interpretation of t…
Perceived minerality in Sauvignon wines: influence of culture and perception mode
Abstract Description of wine in terms of perceived mineral character has become common practice in recent decades. The major aim of our study was to investigate cultural differences in perception of minerality in wines from France and New Zealand, these countries having very different wine-production histories. A second aim was to investigate influence of perception mode on perceived mineral character in wine to gain increased understanding of the metaphorical descriptor “mineral” as applied to wine chemosensory attributes. Thirty-two French and 31 New Zealand wine professionals evaluated 16 wines (8 French; 8 New Zealand) under three conditions: orthonasal olfaction; global (orthonasal and…
Colour as a driver of Pinot noir wine quality judgments: An investigation involving French and New Zealand wine professionals
Despite anecdotal reports suggesting an influence of perceived wine colour on wine professionals’ judgments of wine intrinsic quality, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the phenomenon. The major aim of the present study was to investigate the importance of perceived colour as a driver of chemosensory judgments of Pinot noir wines including sensory evaluations of quality and typicality. Twenty-three French and 23 New Zealand (NZ) wine professionals judged Pinot noir wines from France and NZ on a range of attributes including perceived colour (hue, intensity, and brightness), varietal characteristics, and overall wine quality. The wines were evaluated in both standard clear glassware w…