Effects of the nonvolatile matrix on the aroma perception of wine

Eighteen reconstituted wine samples were prepared by mixing nonvolatile and volatile fractions obtained from six different wines, two whites and four reds, with different characteristics, in an approach that makes it possible to have the same aroma composition in different nonvolatile matrices and vice versa. The aroma elicited by those reconstituted samples was described by a specifically trained sensory panel. Additional gas chromatography-olfactometric and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric studies were carried out to measure differences in aroma release. Results have shown that the nonvolatile matrix of wine exerts a powerful effect on the perception of aroma, strong enough even to make a white wine aroma to smell as a red wine (increasing red, black, and dry fruit notes in detriment of white, yellow, citrus, and tropical) and vice versa and also to create differences in the aroma of reds. It has also been confirmed that the wine nonvolatile matrix exerts a powerful influence on the release of odorants. In particular, headspaces above a white wine matrix are richer in fruity esters and volatile fatty acids. Red wine nonvolatile matrices seem also to retain strongly 3-mercaptohexyl acetate, hence reducing its sensory impact. Comparison of red wine nonvolatile matrices reveals that differences in the retention power of the matrix can affect differentially the pattern of release of linear and branched esters and also of acids.