French Red Wines Research Articles

The role of customer and expert ratings in a hedonic analysis of French red wine prices: from gurus to geeks?

ABSTRACT Wine experts’ ratings provide quality information and reduce the information asymmetry for the consumer. We hypothesize that consumers’ ratings will come to dominate expert ratings in the wine expertise market. We employ a hedonic regression framework on the attributes of 36,970 French red wines to determine the relative impacts of expert and Vivino community ratings on wine prices. Average consumer ratings are found to have a larger effect on price than expert scores. These results are found to be robust to outliers and the general conclusion that peers matter more than experts holds when we exclude the top-end wines.

Bias behind closed doors: Chinese consumers' perception of foreign wines

AbstractAlthough considerable research has explored consumer ethnocentrism and conspicuous consumption effects independently, a meaningful quantitative analysis of the interaction of such effects on consumer perception is yet to be undertaken. This study aims to provide insight into these effects by examining the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism and consumption setting on foreign Country‐of‐Origin (COO) effects in a Chinese consumer wine market context. A total of 324 wine consumers in mainland China participated in a 3 (COO: France vs. Australia vs. China) × 2 (Consumption Setting: Public vs. Private) × continuous (Chinese consumer ethnocentrism) between‐subject, factorial design experiment. The study finds that Chinese consumers favor French red wine when compared with its Australian and Chinese counterparts but shows that Australian wines still benefit through smaller, indirect COO effects. Additionally, French COO effects are mediated by the utilitarian and hedonic meanings of red wine and moderated by consumer trait ethnocentrism and the consumption setting. This paper contributes to the understanding of culturally informed self‐regulation of consumer behaviors and how Chinese consumer ethnocentrism interacts with consumption settings to alter a consumer's perception of foreign goods. The findings of this paper also provide practical insight into Chinese wine consumers' perceptions and decision‐making processes for wine exporters.

Оценка эффективности противоопухолевого воздействия и индукции апоптоза в клетках карциномы почки человека биологически активными добавками, содержащими ресвератрол, индол-3-карбинол и кордицепин, флуоресцентными методами визуализации

We compared the effectiveness of antitumor effects and apoptosis induction on human renal cell carcinoma A498 extracts of cruciferous plant material (indole-3-carbinol), Chinese mushroom (cordycepin), French red wine (resveratrol) at low concentrations after 24 and 48 h using fluorescent methods of imaging apoptosis and necrosis in human tumor cells in vitro . Propidium iodide and acridine orange were used as dyes in the "alive and dead" test, which allowed us to detect the number of dead cells and cells in which apoptosis had started. It was found that indole-3-carbinol at low concentrations (0.0288 and 0.1152 mg/ml) has a pronounced cytotoxic and cytostatic activity against human kidney cancer cells, significantly exceeding the action of resveratrol at the same concentrations. At the same time, cordycepin has no cytotoxic and cytostatic activity at these concentrations. Indole-3-carbinol also has the most pronounced apoptotic activity at concentrations of 0.0144-0.1152 mg/ml, after 48 h the number of kidney cancer cells in apoptosis increases by 6.8-10 times compared to control. It is concluded that indole-3-carbinol is a promising antitumor agent for use in the complex therapy of patients with kidney cancer.

Potentiometric sensor with lipid-polymer membranes for quality assessment of French red wines

Potentiometric sensor with lipid-polymer membranes for quality assessment of French red wines

3-Isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine is neutrally perceived by consumers at usual concentrations in French Sauvignon and Fer wines from the Gaillac area

3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IBMP) is a grape-derived aroma compound responsible for the bell pepper character of wine. It is still unclear whether this molecule is always negatively perceived by consumers. The objective of this study was to establish a consumer rejection threshold (CRT) for IBMP in French white and red wines from the Gaillac area made from Sauvignon and Fer respectively.The best estimate thresholds (BET) were determined by carrying out three-alternative forced choice (3-AFC) tests: 5.5 ng/L for Sauvignon and 16.8 ng/L for Fer. For the estimation of the CRT, consumers (n = 48) received pairs of samples consisting of a base wine and a base wine spiked with an ascending concentration of IBMP. They were asked to indicate which sample they preferred, and the CRT was calculated as the concentration for which the spiked sample was significantly rejected. CRTs were determined at 50 ng/L and 30 ng/L for Sauvignon and Fer respectively.Our findings indicate that IBMP is more acceptable in white wine than in red wine. As IBMP concentrations reported in the literature for Sauvignon and Fer are generally below CRT concentrations, IBMP appears to be neutrally perceived by consumers at usual concentrations in wines from Gaillac made from these two cultivars.Our findings tend to contradict the belief in the wine industry that consumers systematically reject ‘vegetative’ styles of wines, and do not encourage local winegrowers and winemakers to necessarily implement viticultural or enological practices to minimise IBMP concentrations in wine.

Origin verification of French red wines using isotope and elemental analyses coupled with chemometrics

Origin verification of 240 French wines from four regions of France was undertaken using isotope and elemental analyses. Our aim was to identify and differentiate the geographical origin of these red wines, and more importantly, to build a classification tool that can be used to verify geographic origin of French red wines using machine learning models. Multivariate analyses of the isotopic and elemental data revealed that it is possible to determine the geographical origin of French wines with a high level of confidence for most regions analyzed in this study. The wine verification accuracy of four French wine producing regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhone using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) method was 98.2%. The results also show that ANN is more suitable than Discriminant Analysis for this verification purpose. The most important variables for French wine regional traceability were Mg, Mn, Na, Sr, Ti and Rb.

Free-comment outperformed check-all-that-apply in the sensory characterisation of wines with consumers at home

Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) is a popular method used for collecting word-based sensory descriptions from consumers. Free-Comment (FC), as a response to open-ended questions, is an interesting alternative because it removes biases due to the use of a predefined list of descriptors. In the context of a home used test (HUT), FC enables subjects to express themselves more naturally. The present study investigated the relevance of the use of FC at home for word-based sensory description of a set of products. Two groups of 60 consumers of red wines characterised four French red wines from different terroirs performing either a CATA task or a FC task. The two sensory tasks were performed at home according to sensory modality: visual, olfactory and gustatory. The first objective was to investigate whether a FC protocol can be successfully conducted at home and whether it enables the characterisation and discrimination of a set of products. The second objective was to investigate whether extrinsic sensory information affects FC descriptions. The third objective was to investigate whether CATA and FC provide comparable information in the HUT context. The results show that an FC protocol is feasible at home and that the extrinsic sensory information did not affect FC descriptions. FC enabled better characterisation and discrimination of the products than CATA. A new test of product differences based on the total bootstrap procedure was proposed to compare FC and CATA.

Square wave voltammetric analysis of polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity of red wines using glassy carbon and disposable carbon nanotubes modified screen-printed electrodes

The polyphenols present in different French red wines were characterized electrochemically using square wave voltammetry (SWV). The voltammetric measurements were carried out using a glassy carbon electrode and disposable screen-printed carbon electrodes unmodified and modified with single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The single-walled carbon nanotubes-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SWCNTs-SPCE) showed the best results for the voltammetric analysis of polyphenols in red wine samples, allowing using disposable electrodes to perform measurements. The obtained voltammograms contained three characteristic oxidation peaks. The first peak at the lowest potential was ascribed to oxidation of catechol and galloyl groups of polyphenols (on the flavonoid B-ring), the second peak to the oxidation of malvidin anthocyanins and the third peak was due mainly to the second oxidation wave of flavonoid phenolic groups. The total polyphenols content was determined by spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods as well as antioxidant capacity by the ABTS method, and were in good agreement with the SWCNTs-SPCE results. Thus, SWV is a satisfying fast electrochemical technique for the polyphenol characterization and antioxidant capacity determination of red wine compared to the more frequently used cyclic voltammetry or differential pulse voltammetry, especially using SWCNTs-SPCE.

Product involvement and consumer food-elicited emotional associations: Insights from emoji questionnaires

Individual differences in food-related consumer behaviour are well documented, but lack thorough exploration in relation to product-elicited emotional associations. In this research, focus is directed to product involvement as a factor that modulates emotional associations to tasted products (dried fruit, n = 4) and written descriptions of consumption situations (drinking red wine, cooking dinner using seafood). Emoji questionnaires were used (as check-all-that-apply questions: CATA), and across two studies with consumers in New Zealand (n = 352) and China (n = 450), higher levels of involvement were associated with more positive emotional associations. For example, consumers with higher involvement for dried fruit used emoji with positive meanings (e.g., face savouring delicious food (▪), smiling face with heart-shaped eyes (▪) and smiling face with smiling eyes (▪) more frequently than those with lower levels of involvement. Conversely, emoji with negative or neutral meanings (e.g., confused face (▪), confounded face (▪), neutral face (▪)), were more frequently used by consumers with lower levels of product involvement. The number of significant differences between the samples of dried fruit were lower in the less involved consumer segment, and these consumers, on average, used less emoji to characterise the samples. A similar pattern of results were established for the written stimuli, which were used with Chinese consumers. For example, in the segment with greater involvement with seafood, associations to emoji with positive meanings were higher when responding to the situation “cooking dinner using frozen seafood as one of the ingredients.” In the case of “drinking French red wine,” the strategy used to define segments (median vs. triadic split of summed involvement scores) additionally influenced the results, and bigger differences were established when comparing more discrete segments (two extreme groups following triadic split).

Comparative characterization of volatile profiles of French, Italian, Spanish, and Polish red wines using headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

ABSTRACTThe aim of the study was to investigate whether the wines produced in France, Italy, Spain, and Poland differ in composition of volatile compounds, and whether red wines from Poland can be distinguished from those of other European countries. Thirty-five aroma compounds belonging to several groups – 13 alcohols, 9 acids, 3 aldehydes, 7 esters, 2 ketones, and 1 volatile phenol – were identified in the examined wines. The proportions of volatile compounds in wines from the four selected countries were similar. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between French, Italian, Spanish, and Polish wines for 3-methylbutan-1-ol, butane-2,3-diol, phenylmethanol, 2-phenylethanol, dodecan-1-ol, propane-1,2,3-triol, diethyl butanedioate, 3-hydroxybutan-2-one, and 4-ethylphenol. In addition, diethyl butanedioate distinguished Polish wines from the other wines. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) showed that the Polish wines were well separated from the other wines.

Classification of wines according to their production regions with the contained trace elements using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been applied to classify French wines according to their production regions. The use of the surface-assisted (or surface-enhanced) sample preparation method enabled a sub-ppm limit of detection (LOD), which led to the detection and identification of at least 22 metal and nonmetal elements in a typical wine sample including majors, minors and traces. An ensemble of 29 bottles of French wines, either red or white wines, from five production regions, Alsace, Bourgogne, Beaujolais, Bordeaux and Languedoc, was analyzed together with a wine from California, considered as an outlier. A non-supervised classification model based on principal component analysis (PCA) was first developed for the classification. The results showed a limited separation power of the model, which however allowed, in a step by step approach, to understand the physical reasons behind each step of sample separation and especially to observe the influence of the matrix effect in the sample classification. A supervised classification model was then developed based on random forest (RF), which is in addition a nonlinear algorithm. The obtained classification results were satisfactory with, when the parameters of the model were optimized, a classification accuracy of 100% for the tested samples. We especially discuss in the paper, the effect of spectrum normalization with an internal reference, the choice of input variables for the classification models and the optimization of parameters for the developed classification models.

1,8-Cineole in French Red Wines: Evidence for a Contribution Related to Its Various Origins.

The aromatic descriptor "green", reflecting grape unripeness in French red wines, is frequently associated with the levels of 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines, particularly 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IBMP), which has bell pepper nuances. Nevertheless, not all green aromatic expressions in red wines correlate with 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazine concentrations. This study considered sensory and chemical approaches using Cabernet Sauvignon wines obtained from grapes harvested at one-month intervals during the 2014 and 2015 vintages to investigate other volatile odoriferous compounds. Semipreparative HPLC fractionation of wine extracts revealed a fraction with specific green aromas in the early harvest wines. Its sensory impact was confirmed by omission and reconstitution tests. Then, multidimensional gas chromatography coupled with olfactometry and mass spectrometry (MDGC-O-MS/TOF) was used for molecular characterization of the aroma compounds associated with the green aromas. Surprisingly, eucalyptol (1,8-cineole), with menthol odor was highlighted and assayed at concentrations sometimes above its olfactory detection threshold in Cabernet Sauvignon and Fer Servadou wines. Sensory tests confirmed its impact at several concentrations detected in French red wines (up to 2.61 ± 0.03 μg/L) on the menthol nuance and overall green perception, particularly via an additive effect with IBMP. Quantitation of 1,8-cineole in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes during berry development in 2015 revealed its varietal origin with abundant concentrations in unripe berries and decrease during grape maturation. Moreover, the implication of an invasive plant (Artemisia verlotiorum) growing in certain vineyards was shown to be responsible for increased 1,8-cineole concentrations in some wines.

Exemplarity measurement and estimation of the level of interjudge agreement for two categories of French red wines

Exemplarity measurements of wines by at least 20 judges are used to estimate the degree of interjudge (dis)agreement and to tell wines apart into two contrasting extremes. Two sets of French red wines – Pinot noir from Burgundy and Cabernet franc from the Loire Valley – are studied separately but by the same approach. Short-listing criteria are used to collate 40 starting-price and middle-range wines for each set differing a priori in olfactory terms. Wine professionals assess their local wines first orthonasally and then, independently, by global evaluation. A pool of descriptive and inferential statistics indicates there is generally neither complete divergence nor real agreement among judges. For Burgundy Pinot noir, the weak agreement observed and measured for orthonasal evaluation strengthens slightly for global evaluation. Contrariwise, for Loire Valley Cabernet franc wines, agreement is poorer for global evaluation than for olfactory evaluation. With orthonasal evaluation, responses are more consistent for Cabernet franc than for Pinot noir, whereas for global evaluation, the levels of interjudge agreement are of the same order for both sets of wines. The subjectivity of sensory responses is interpreted for each situation. The personal judgment of exemplarity (or typicality) may therefore be defined as a demanding cognitive decision varying with the circumstances of the experiment and responding to a process of perceptual categorization based on previous knowledge and on an intuitive comparison between a sample and an abstract but conscious image of the category. Agreement among judges is sufficient to bipolarize the wines. As the power to discriminate among the wines is related to the level of interjudge agreement, bipolarization is most marked for the Cabernet franc wines evaluated by olfactory evaluation.

Wine analysis by FastGC proton-transfer reaction-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry

Proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has successfully been applied to a wide variety of food matrices, nevertheless the reports about the use of PTR-MS in the analysis of alcoholic beverages remain anecdotal. Indeed, due to the presence of ethanol in the sample, PTR-MS can only be employed after dilution of the headspace or at the expense of radical changes in the operational conditions. In the present research work, PTR-ToF-MS was coupled to a prototype FastGC system allowing for a rapid (90s) chromatographic separation of the sample headspace prior to PTR-MS analysis. The system was tested on red wine: the FastGC step allowed to rule out the effect of ethanol, eluted from the column during the first 8s, allowing PTR-MS analysis to be carried out without changing the ionization conditions. Eight French red wines were submitted to analysis and could be separated on the basis of the respective grape variety and region of origin. In comparison to the results obtained by direct injection, FastGC provided additional information, thanks to a less drastic dilution of the sample and due to the chromatographic separation of isomers. This was achieved without increasing duration and complexity of the analysis.

Lowering the alcohol content of red wine does not alter its cardioprotective properties

Many epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies suggest that chronic and moderate consumption of red wine benefits cardiovascular health, because of the alcoholic content or the polyphenols/flavonoids. The antioxidant and cardioprotective properties of a French red wine (cabernet sauvignon, 12% alcohol by volume) were compared with those of the same wine subjected to reverse osmosis for partial removal of alcohol (6% alcohol by volume). Antioxidant capacity was assessed in vitro using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. To test the cardioprotective effect of 12% v. 6% wine, the drinking water of rats used for controls was supplemented with red wine (12% or 6%). After 10 days, hearts were isolated on a Langendorff system and subjected to 30 minutes of global ischaemia plus 30 minutes of reperfusion (I/R). No differences in antioxidant capacity were observed between wine of 12% and 6% alcohol content (n=8 per group). Control hearts subjected to I/R presented a rate pressure product (heart rate x left ventricular developed pressure, expressed as a percentage of baseline value) of 16±4% (mean±standard error). Pretreatment with wine 12% or 6% improved the rate pressure product to 40±6% and 43±6%, respectively (p<0.05 v. control). Our findings suggest that the reduction of alcohol content from 12% to 6% in wine did not alter its antioxidant and cardioprotective properties. Moderate and regular consumption of lower alcohol content wines may confer beneficial effects without the risks associated with traditional wines of higher alcohol content.

Red wine decreases asymmetric dimethylarginine via SIRT1 induction in human endothelial cells

To investigate the effect of three red wines (RWs) from different growing areas and made from different grapes on asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, in young and senescent human endothelial cells (ECs). All RWs decreased ADMA levels, but 2-fold concentration of German RW was necessary to reach the same effect on ADMA compared to Italian RW and French RW without affecting the cell viability and morphology. The ADMA-lowering effect of RW was increased in senescent compared to young cells, accompanied by enhanced activity of the metabolizing enzyme: dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) II, whereas the same amount in the upregulated protein expression of DDAH II and the downregulated protein expression of the synthesizing enzyme: protein arginine methyltransferase 1 was revealed. These effects were associated with decreased 8-iso-prostaglandin F 2α and peroxynitrite formation, enhanced protein expression of NAD +-dependent class III histone deacetylase sirtuin (SIRT) 1, and downregulated protein expression of histone senescence factor p53. Blockade of SIRT1 activity abolished the effect of red wine on ADMA. These data are the first demonstration that RW by activating SIRT1 impairs synthesis and increases metabolism of ADMA. This effect of RW is accentuated in senescent cells probably due to enhanced DDAH activity.

Diversity in Spoilage Yeast Dekkera/Brettanomyces bruxellensis Isolated from French Red Wine. Assessment During Fermentation of Synthetic Wine Medium

Yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a contaminant found worldwide and is responsible for red wine spoilage due to the development of animal and phenolic off-odours. During this study, 24 Brettanomyces bruxellenis isolates were obtained from red wine samples from two French wineries and these were discriminated as 23 strains. Nine strains coming from 2 wineries and 4 vintages were cultivated in synthetic wine medium for 1500 hours and they gave nine different behaviours. Four main growth patterns (with different growth steps and durations) and three main different sugar consumption profiles were obtained. Glucose and fructose were not limiting substrates for all strains. The production level of 4-ethylphenol was found to vary from strain to strain (from 0.350 to 2.773 mg L−1) and was independent of the biomass concentration. Some strains presented a coupled-to-growth production of volatile phenols, others did not. This study showed that different strains of Brettanomyces bruxellensis behaved differently, one from another, under the given conditions taking into consideration several aspects. The results thus demonstrate a large intraspecific diversity.

A qualitative study of Chinese wine consumption and purchasing

PurposeThis research aims to examine Chinese consumers’ wine consumption and purchasing behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe study, conducted during the Chinese New Year in early 2006, used in‐depth interviews with 15 consumers in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.FindingsThe results suggest that Chinese consume Chinese spirits for all occasions, yet consume red wine only for special occasions such as Chinese new year and other holidays. A key point for selling red wine to the Chinese is its positive image; drinking red wine is considered trendy and shows good taste. Another key point is consumer perceptions of red wine as healthier than Chinese spirits because wine contains less alcohol. Two other findings are that most Chinese consumers assume all wine is red wine and have little wine knowledge. Most respondents did not know of white wine or that Australia produces wine. Finally, China's culture of face value, mianzi, plays a key role in purchasing and consuming wine. Chinese tend to purchase inexpensive wine for private consumption and public occasions, yielding more mianzi in front of others. In some important occasions, consumers will purchase a foreign (French) red wine to impress their guests and obtain even more mianzi. In most situations, Chinese purchase and consume wine for perceived health and symbolic – lucky or good face – values.Research limitations/implicationsThe small sample size is a limitation. Another limitation is that all the respondents lived in the urban area of Guangzhou, one of China's most developed cities. The findings do not generalize to China.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that wine is a symbolic product rather than a necessity product in China; therefore, image is an important attribute for selling wine in China. Furthermore, limited wine knowledge tends to make Chinese consumers rely heavily on price for their wine purchasing decisions, as price relates to mainzi. Chinese consumers’ high awareness of France as a wine making country and their deep‐rooted positive beliefs about French wines pose difficulties for marketing other foreign wines, such as Australian wines, in China.Originality/valueThis is perhaps the first academic study in English of Chinese wine consumption and wine purchasing. It offers important insights on the characteristics of wine consumption and purchasing in China.

Which Impact for β-Damascenone on Red Wines Aroma?

beta-Damascenone, a C-13 norisoprenoid compound, is usually presented as an impact odorant in red wines. Its direct contribution to their aroma was investigated. Both free beta-damascenone and beta-damascenone precursors were isolated from various French red wines and then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, revealing concentrations in the vicinity of 1 and 2 microg/L for free compounds and both forms, respectively. Gas chromatography-olfactometry analyses were also performed on dilutions of both red wine extracts and pure beta-damascenone. The very low detection threshold in olfactometry for this compound explains why it is found at the highest dilution factor in aroma extract dilution analysis methods. Moreover, determination of beta-damascenone's odor thresholds confirmed the huge importance of the matrix: beta-Damascenone is characterized by a very low perception threshold in hydroalcoholic solution as compared to red wine, where it is over 1000-fold higher. In hydroalcoholic solution, beta-damascenone enhanced fruity notes of ethyl cinnamate and caproate and masked the herbaceous aroma of IBMP. Globally, these results suggested that beta-damascenone has more an indirect than a direct impact on red wine aroma.

Determination of ochratoxin A in red wines by multiple pulsed elutions from molecularly imprinted polypyrrole

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used successfully to enhance the binding capacity of a molecularly imprinted polypyrrole (MIPPy)-modified stainless steel frit for micro-solid phase extraction (μSPE). Low back pressure of this new MIPPy/CNTs-modified stainless steel frit device made it feasible for sample preconcentration by using a syringe pump. For a 3-mL sample of red wine, preconcentration of ochratoxin A (OTA) was achieved within 6 min at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. In order to eliminate matrix interferences, two new approaches based on differential or multiple pulsed elution (PE) were developed for the determination of OTA in French (1999), Canadian (2003) and Bulgarian (2004) red wines. Elution of OTA from MIPPy/CNTs, for on-line coupling to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis with fluorescence detection (FLD), was achieved by an ion-pairing mechanism. It was found that the % triethylamine (TEA) in the PE solution had a scalable effect on the OTA retention time, as influenced by the formation of three different ion-pairs: [ NH 4 + – OTA 2 - – NH 4 + ], [ NH 4 + – OTA 2 - – TEA + ], and [ TEA + – OTA 2 - – TEA + ]. Preliminary method validation showed that the Bulgarian red wine was best analyzed by MIPPy/CNTs–μSPP–PE–HPLC–FLD using 2% TEA. The reproducibility was 8.9% RSD and the limit of detection was 0.08 ppb ( S/ N = 3), which is more than adequate for handling the regulatory level of 2 ppb.