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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #391101
Research Project: Improved Fruit, Grape and Wine Products through Precision Agriculture and Quality Component Evaluation

Location: Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit

Title: Influence of saliva on the sensory properties of smoke-exposed commercial wines

Author
item PAUP, VICTORIA - Washington State University
item EDWARDS, CHARLES - Washington State University
item Lee, Jungmin
item ROSS, CAROLYN - Washington State University

Submitted to: Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/7/2022
Publication Date: 7/13/2022
Citation: Paup, V.D., Edwards, C.E., Lee, J., Ross, C.F. 2022. Influence of saliva on the sensory properties of smoke-exposed commercial wines. Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists. IFT annual meeting. Chicago, IL, virtual.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In recent years, wildfires have increased in frequency and severity. When grapes are exposed to this smoke, the resultant wines are often described by undesirable characteristics including smoky or burnt. Analytical methods can assess the extent of smoke exposure but do not always reflect the sensory characteristics experienced by consumers. One proposed reason for this is that saliva components release bound compounds, influencing the release of smoke characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of saliva on smoke-exposed commercial wines using sensory methods. Six smoke-exposed commercial wines were procured from winemakers. Saliva was collected from untrained consumers. These consumers then profiled a subset of the commercial wines before (control; - saliva) and after the addition of saliva (+ saliva). A timed difference from control test (5-point scale; 1 = very slight difference, 5 = very large difference), with evaluations occurring every 30 seconds, was utilized to evaluate the influence of saliva on the wine sensory profile over time. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance to determine the extent of differences between the control and saliva-treated wine over time. The addition of saliva influenced the aroma of smoke-exposed commercial wines when compared to a control. The difference between the control and + saliva wines at time 0 was a 1.6 intensity, reaching a peak difference of 4.1 intensity following 3.5 minutes of incubation. However, starting at 4.5 minutes of incubation, the differences between the control and + saliva wine samples declined. And at 10 minutes of incubation, the magnitude of difference was similar to the initial levels. These results indicate that saliva have a significant influence on the sensory properties of commercial smoke-exposed wines.