Defining wine typicity: sensory characterisation and consumer perspectives

Abstract

Wine encapsulates the expression of multiple inputs – from the vineyard location and environment to viticultural and winemaking practices – collectively known as terroir. Each of these inputs influence a wine's chemical composition and sensory traits, which vary depending on cultivar as well as provenance. These aspects underpin the overall concept of wine typicity, an important notion that enables wine from a delimited geographical area to be differentiated and recognisable in national and international wine markets. Indeed, consumers are increasingly more aware of the significance of regionality and may use this to influence their purchasing decisions. Understanding which sensory attributes represent regional typicity and how these are best conveyed to consumers is therefore important for the prosperity and reputation of producers. As reviewed herein, the sensory typicity of wine can be identified using different types of testing methods, with the most effective being a combination of approaches, such as sorting task in combination with descriptive sensory analysis. Consumer perceptions of regionality and wine typicity are then examined to provide insight into their behaviours. This includes consideration of the importance of origin to perceptions of quality and typicity, in terms of meeting expectations and engaging consumers. Based on the literature reviewed, it is proposed that wine typicity can be defined as a juxtaposition of unique traits that define a class of wines having common aspects of terroir involving biophysical and human dimensions that make the wines recognisable, and in theory, unable to be replicated in another territory.