Relationship between Sensory Descriptive Analysis and Levels ofBotrytisAntigens in Dessert Wines

Abstract

Immunoassays with some dessert wines made from <i>Botrytis</i>-infected grapes (referred to as <i>Botrytis</i> wines) have shown that <i>Botrytis</i> antigens can be detected even at dilutions of 1:64,000, while none or very low levels have been detected in those wines that do not claim to be made from <i>Botrytis</i>-infected grapes. It is commonly accepted that <i>Botrytis</i> wines have a characteristic honeylike aroma, but there are apparently no scientific reports on the differences in sensory perception of dessert wines made from <i>Botrytis</i>-infected grapes and those made from noninfected grapes, such as icewines. The purpose of this project was to determine if it was possible to distinguish, through sensory descriptive analysis, <i>Botrytis</i> and non-<i>Botrytis</i> wines as determined by immunoassay. Despite the high variability in grape variety, wine processes, and wine regions of the wines selected for this study, there is a trend showing that wines with low <i>Botrytis</i> antigen units are high in fresh fruit and citrus aromas. However, wines with high <i>Botrytis</i> antigen levels were not especially high in perceived honey aromas. This result could be an artifact of the high variability in varieties, wine styles and wine regions.