Abstract
Rotundone is the main aroma compound responsible for peppery notes in wines. Since its discovery in 2008, this potent and fascinating odorant has been the subject of many research studies worldwide. The aim of this review is to summarize these works. Rotundone is a rather ubiquitous molecule that has been detected in many grape varieties. As with other sesquiterpenes, the proposed biosynthetic scheme for rotundone involves both the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) and the mevalonate (MVA) pathways. The production of the compound by the plant, which could be a response to biotic stress, is also affected by abiotic factors. In most cases, studies showed that rotundone was neutrally or positively perceived by consumers, which makes the peppery note a desirable character in vine. Practical ways were identified to modulate rotundone levels in wines using viticultural and enological techniques. Climate change, through the expected alteration of precipitation regime and a rise in temperature over the grape maturation period, should have a depreciative impact on rotundone accumulation. Adaptation strategies in this context, together with other perspectives of research, are discussed in concluding this review.
Highlights
The aromatic component of a wine is a key element in its appreciation by consumers, as the olfactory assessment takes place just after the visual examination, which is seldom discriminatory
Until 2008, knowledge of the aromatic compounds that account for the varietal character of red wines, especially free compounds directly extracted from grapes without being released from a precursor, was limited to methoxypyrazines, responsible for undesirable green notes in wines (Lacey et al, 1991)
Since 2008, several research groups around the world have developed analytical methods for the quantitative determination of rotundone in grapes and wines. These methods are based on solid phase extraction (SPE)-gas chromatography (GC)- mass spectrometry (MS) (Culleré et al, 2016), SPE-SPMEGC-MS (Siebert et al, 2008; Mattivi et al, 2011; Geffroy et al, 2014; Nauer et al, 2018) or stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE)-GC-MS (Takase et al, 2015, Escudero et al, 2019) and mostly on stable isotope dilution analysis (SIDA)
Summary
The aromatic component of a wine is a key element in its appreciation by consumers, as the olfactory assessment takes place just after the visual examination, which is seldom discriminatory. With more than 800 compounds according to Robinson et al (2014), or more than 1000 according to other authors (IFV 2013), wine is one of the food products richest in volatile molecules. All these volatile compounds do not necessarily have an odorant property and odorants are often characterized by a moderate molecular weight, low polarity, good water solubility, high vapor pressure and a lipophilic character (Meierhenrich et al, 2005). The discovery in an Australian Syrah wine of rotundone, a sesquiterpene responsible for peppery notes (Wood et al, 2008), made a major contribution to this knowledge. In light of the factors affecting rotundone concentration, adaptation strategies are proposed that will assist in producing wines with consistent rotundone levels in the context of climate change
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