We have learned that a researcher from the University of La Rioja at the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences, Sara Ferrero del Teso, has dedicated her time to studying the compounds and chemical factors responsible for the main tactile sensations of wine. Factors such as astringency in general, dryness or adherence. This research has also required working on the sensory vocabulary of these sensations with a panel of experts. This has allowed us to propose a sensory vocabulary, made up of 18 terms, to name these perceptions.
Thus, the components of the wine have been separated and the chemical compounds found in each of the parts have been analyzed. The goal was to obtain fractions that are chemically simpler and sensorily less complex. In addition, the effect of oxidative and reductive aging, or the influence of grape maturity, was studied.
Thanks to this research, it has been possible to isolate groups of compounds that cause different tactile sensations in the mouth. This has allowed the development of a wide sensory vocabulary that describes relevant sensory properties in the mouth, made up of 18 terms: burning, rough, powdery, drying, drying on the palate, drying on the side of the tongue, meaty, grainy, rubbery, pungent, sharp, greasy, sharp, gritty, silky, sticky, unctuous and watery.
Among all the families of polyphenols present in wine, it is conventionally known that anthocyanins (pigments present in the skin of the grape) are responsible for the color contribution of red wines. However, the results of this thesis support that anthocyanins would be involved in the tactile sensations in the mouth produced by wines. Thus, the fraction of anthocyanins obtained from certain wines was described as drying, bitter and persistent.
Source: icvv.es
