Correlating wine quality indicators to chemical and sensory measurements.

Twenty-seven commercial Californian Cabernet Sauvignon wines of different quality categories were analyzed with sensory and chemical methods. Correlations between five quality proxies-points awarded during a wine competition, wine expert scores, retail price, vintage, and wine region-were correlated to sensory attributes, volatile compounds, and elemental composition. Wine quality is a multi-faceted construct, incorporating many different layers. Depending on the quality proxy studied, significant correlations between quality and attributes, volatiles and elements were found, some of them previously reported in the literature

Predicting the composition of red wine blends using an array of Multicomponent peptide-based sensors

Differential sensing using synthetic receptors as mimics of the mammalian senses of taste and smell is a powerful approach for the analysis of complex mixtures. Herein, we report on the effectiveness of a cross-reactive, supramolecular, peptide-based sensing array in differentiating and predicting the composition of red wine blends. Fifteen blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, in addition to the mono varietals, were used in this investigation. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) showed a clear differentiation of blends based on tannin concentration and composition where certain mono varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon seemed to contribute less to the overall characteristics of the blend. Partial Least Squares (PLS) Regression and cross validation were used to build a predictive model for the responses of the receptors to eleven binary blends and the three mono varietals. The optimized model was later used to predict the percentage of each mono varietal in an independent test set composted of four tri-blends with a 15% average error. A partial least square regression model using the mouth-feel and taste descriptive sensory attributes of the wine blends revealed a strong correlation of the receptors to perceived astringency, which is indicative of selective binding to polyphenols in wine

A cross-cultural study on odor-elicited life stage-associations

Associative conceptualization plays an important role in how we perceive and interact with our environment. Particularly odor associations can be highly vivid and often long-lasting due to their close connection with our episodic memory and emotions. Based on the findings of a study conducted in Austria in 2017, this work was carried out to investigate odor-elicited life stage-associations (OELSA) in seven nations and to identify potential similarities and differences in conceptualizing odor impressions across these nations. A total of 1144 adults (aged 21–60) from Austria, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, USA, and Vietnam participated in this study. Nine odors (vanilla, orange, lemon, mint, coconut, basil, rose, anise, and hay) were presented to the participants, and they were asked to answer questions about their spontaneous associations with life stages. The results indicate the existence of OELSA in all investigated nations. For example, vanilla was predominantly assigned to children in all nations, while hay was primarily assigned to elder people. While most of the investigated odors were most frequently associated with adults, some significant differences in OELSA were observed between the different nationalities. For instance, mint was more frequently associated with children by Australian participants compared to participants from all other nations, while coconut was more strongly associated with children by the Vietnamese participants compared to all other participants. The results of this study demonstrate the existence of consistent life stage-related associations elicited by certain odors across different nations and cultures and, at the same time points to differences in life stage-related association with certain odors between the nations. Since this work was not designed to identify the reasons for these differences, we can only make assumptions about the potential underlying causes for these behaviors

Correlating Wine Quality Indicators to Chemical and Sensory Measurements

Twenty-seven commercial Californian Cabernet Sauvignon wines of different quality categories were analyzed with sensory and chemical methods. Correlations between five quality proxies—points awarded during a wine competition, wine expert scores, retail price, vintage, and wine region—were correlated to sensory attributes, volatile compounds, and elemental composition. Wine quality is a multi-faceted construct, incorporating many different layers. Depending on the quality proxy studied, significant correlations between quality and attributes, volatiles and elements were found, some of them previously reported in the literature

Elemental Profiles of Whisk(e)y Allow Differentiation by Type and Region

Elemental fingerprints could provide an analytical approach to product differentiation and authentication, and have been used in the past for various distilled spirits, including brandy, gin, bourbon and tequila. However, a comparison of elemental differences between different whisk(e)y types, such as Bourbon and Scotch, is still missing. In this study we compare the elemental fingerprints of 68 commercial whiskies for differentiation by type (Bourbon, Tennessee, Scotch, Irish, Japanese) and region. Concentrations from sub-μg/L to mid-mg/L of 53 different elements were determined with inductively-coupled plasma—mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and microwave plasma—atomic emission spectroscopy (MP-AES), and used in subsequent statistical analyses. Significant differences in several elements were found for type, and allowed a classification according to whisk(e)y type. Elemental differences were also found for different production areas within Scotland, thus, providing further evidence that Scotch whiskies could be differentiated by elemental analysis. Major sources of elemental differences seem to be processing equipment (Cu, Fe, Ni, Cd, Sn, Mo, V) and raw materials, such as water (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Sr)

The Effects of Storage Temperature on the Aroma of Whole Bean Arabica Coffee Evaluated by Coffee Consumers and HS-SPME-GC-MS

Although from a food safety point, coffee is considered a shelf-stable product, changes in volatiles over time due to out-gassing and chemical reactions lead to perceivable differences in coffee aroma and “freshness”. Previous studies have looked at the impact of storage conditions on ground or brewed coffee. This study seeks to answer the question of how coffee consumers perceive the smell of coffee grounds of whole beans that have been stored under different conditions: freezer vs. room temperature for 9 weeks compared to a newly roasted control (stored for 1 day). Green beans from the same production lot were roasted to two different levels to also evaluate the impact of roast level on aroma changes. Using projective mapping (PM) followed by ultra-flash profiling (UFP), 48 coffee consumers evaluated, using only smell, 6 different freshly ground coffee samples presented in blind duplicates. In parallel, the profiles of 48 previously reported important coffee volatiles were measured by headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) to relate chemical changes to perceivable sensory aroma changes. Overall, consumer product maps mimicked the instrumental measurements in that the lighter roast coffees showed smaller changes due to storage conditions compared to the dark roast samples. Consumers also perceived the frozen dark roast samples to be more similar to the newly roasted control than the samples stored at room temperature

Understanding American premium chocolate consumer perception of craft chocolate and desirable product attributes using focus groups and projective mapping.

Craft chocolate is a relatively new and fast-growing segment of the American chocolate market. To understand American premium chocolate consumer perception of craft chocolate and desirable chocolate product attributes, we conducted a mixed-methods study using focus groups and projective mapping. Projective mapping revealed that participants segmented products in terms of quality based upon usage occasion rather than cost or other factors. We found that American premium chocolate consumers use search attributes such as segmentation, price, availability, and packaging as quality determinants. Additionally, they desire credence attributes that convey trust through, for example, the presence or absence of sustainability certifications, or a semblance of meaning. Premium chocolate consumers seek out experience attributes such as utility and/or joy, which are achieved by purchasing a chocolate product as a gift, for its nostalgic purposes, or for desired post-ingestive effects. We propose a Desirable Chocolate Attribute Concept Map to explain our findings

USA Mid-Atlantic Consumer Preferences for Front Label Attributes for Local Wine

The purpose of this research was to investigate Mid-Atlantic USA wine consumers’ preferences for front wine label attributes for a lesser-known/unknown local wine variety. The wine consumer base in this part of the USA exceeds that of California. Although the mid-Atlantic is experiencing an increase in the number of wineries, there is a lack of region-specific consumer research that could be the basis for marketing strategies that may differ from those in more established wine regions, such as CA. We recruited 1011 mid-Atlantic consumers who drank wine (at least 1×/month) to view variations of a wine label, differing in wine tag, location description, font types, and images in a choice-based conjoint experiment. A greater percentage of consumers selected the “White Wine” tag and scripted fonts than the other options, with a generalized county text (“Proudly produced in Lehigh County, PA”) being selected by more participants than the American Viticultural Area (AVA) (“Lehigh Valley AVA”) or state (“Pennsylvania”) texts; however, the location text had a lower importance than the wine tag variable. This study implies that a generalized county text that describes a more specific location where the grapes were grown may be more favorable to mid-Atlantic consumers in comparison to AVA or state texts, and that traditional images and generic wine labels are more preferable than wine labels they have not seen before and more contemporary label styles. Wineries in the mid-Atlantic region may want to add generalized county texts to their labels to appeal to the regional audience. As AVAs are used to promote specific wine regions in the USA, and only some consumers choose wines based on these designations, governments and marketing organizations may want to increase education on local AVAs to increase consumer awareness and interest. In addition, consumer differences in variety-seeking behavior and subjective as well as objective wine knowledge, but not attitudes toward locally produced foods, affected wine label choice: Consumers scoring higher in variety-seeking and wine knowledge preferred the specific wine varietal over the generic wine tag; similarly, consumers that indicated familiarity with the wine varietal also preferred the specific wine tag over the generic label. Differences in consumer psychographics appear to modulate front wine label preferences

Hopfer-etal-HopsPerception-preprint

Hops, the flowers of the Humulus lupus plant, is almost exclusively used in beer production, where they add important flavor qualities, such as bitter taste and a variety of aromas, to the finished product. Depending on concentration, variety, and time of addition, different beer styles are created, appealing to a broad range of consumer needs. Consumers of different beer styles both state and reveal a strong preference for their respective preferred style, presumably due to the unique aromas and flavors experienced with different styles. Here we use several rapid profiling methods – free sorting (FS) in combination with check-all-that-apply (CATA) – to perceptually characterize nine samples of hops (7 varieties; 2 blind duplicates) with naïve participants who had been segmented by their typical beer consumption habits (craft versus light beer consumers). The ‘light’ group (n=30) exclusively consumed light, American lager beer styles while the ‘craft’ group (n=32) exclusively consumed what they considered ‘craft’ or ‘micro-brew’ beers. All participants were asked to first sort the hop samples into groups based solely on perceptual similarity; they were then asked to endorse a list of 24 common hops aroma descriptors in a CATA task. Sorting data were used to generate perceptual maps via DISTATIS. Inspection of the perceptual maps indicate participants successfully differentiated between hop samples, and no differences in the number of groups formed between the two consumer groups were found; however, the two cohorts grouped hops samples differently, and resulting maps showed little agreement. Further, light-style beer drinkers checked significantly fewer attributes in the CATA task to describe their hops groups and were also less discriminating between the hops samples relative to the craft-style beer consumers. These data suggest free sorting can be used to profile hops, and observed differences between types of beer drinkers are both perceptual and linguistic in nature