Abstract
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.
Highlights
Wine blending was developed as a European winemaking technique many centuries ago
We demonstrate the application of the peptide-based sensing array to differentiate fifteen red wine blends in addition to three base mono varietals (Table 1)
We have previously demonstrated the application of a multicomponent, peptide-based sensing array to differentiate red wine varietals [19] and Cabernet Sauvignon wines based on harvest time [22]
Summary
Wine blending was developed as a European winemaking technique many centuries ago. As the name suggests, blends are made by mixing different mono-varietal wines in certain ratios. Georges Duboeuf, of fraud and attempted fraud for combining grapes in Cru Beaujolais vineyards with grapes from lesser Beaujolais-Villages vineyards [4] Another case of fraud involved a failed attempt to sell lower-quality local wine as the much more expensive Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino red [5]. Were the peptidic receptors able to differentiate red wine varietals, they were shown to discriminate samples of the same wine varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon) that were made using grapes from the same vineyard, but harvested at different times of maturation [22]. We demonstrate the application of the peptide-based sensing array to differentiate fifteen red wine blends in addition to three base mono varietals (Table 1). We describe how responses of the sensing array to blends made using two mono varietals are used to build a predictive model to quantify the composition of three base wine blends
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