Volatile composition and sensory properties of North West Spain white wines

Abstract

The aroma and volatile composition of wines from five white grape cultivars from NW Spain (Loureira, Blanco lexítimo, Torrontés, Treixadura and Albariño) have been studied by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) during three consecutive vintages (2007–2009) in order to characterize these wines. Relationships between the instrumental (volatile) and sensory variables were analyzed through the application of partial least squares regression (PLS1). The results showed significant differences among white wines (P<0.05) for 20 volatile compounds and ten sensory attributes. Twenty out of forty-six quantified volatile compounds were present in some samples at concentrations higher than their corresponding odor thresholds (odor activity value, OAV>1), thus contributing to the final wine aroma. Partial least squares regression (PLS1) was applied to significant volatile compounds with OAV>0.2 and significant aroma descriptors with geometric mean (%GM) >10. PLS1 yielded a satisfactory model for the prediction of three important aroma descriptors in this set of wines, floral, herbaceous and ripe fruit aromas, and aroma intensity from instrumental analysis data. This work contributes to knowledge about the sensory profiles and its relation to the volatile composition of Galician white grape cultivars.