Chinese localisation of wine aroma descriptors: an update of <i> Le Nez du Vin </i> terminology by survey, descriptive analysis and similarity test

Abstract

Aroma is an important criterion for describing and evaluating wine. The aroma descriptor system currently used in wine analysis is based on Western culture and is thus often inappropriate for use by other cultures to enhance their enjoyment of wine. The objective of the present study was to update this widely applied system to facilitate Chinese participation. The 54 wine aroma descriptors of the original Le Nez du Vin Master Kit were updated based on the results of a survey of 150 untrained Chinese wine consumers who identified the aromas unfamiliar to them. A descriptive sensory analysis was then performed by a panel of 22 untrained wine tasters to identify hypothesised equivalents of the remote lexicons. New aroma reference standards were proposed to verify the hypothesised equivalents between local and non-local terms based on the similarity test. Three unfamiliar descriptors were kept owing to their similarity to the revised attributes and no suitable substitutions were found for four aromas. In the new system, 13 terms are replaced by Chinese local aroma attributes. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to propose a Chinese-localised wine aroma wheel consisting of 7 categories, 16 sub-categories and 53 descriptors.