Browsing by Author "Brand, J."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    The impact of smoke from vegetation fires on sensory characteristics of cabernet sauvignon wines made from affected grapes
    (South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2016-01) De Vries, C. J.; Buica, A. S.; Brand, J.; McKay, M.
    The increased incidence of vegetation fires near vineyards in the Western Cape, South Africa has led to growing concern over smoke taint in wine made from affected grapes. This study focused on the sensory properties of wines made from grapes that have been exposed to bushfire smoke. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes (ten days’ post-véraison) were exposed to a single, hour-long treatment with smoke from burning fynbos under controlled conditions. The grapes were allowed to ripen and wines were then produced. Descriptive analysis of the wines was done for aroma and taste attributes. The results of the investigation show that the exposure of grapes to smoke during ripening led to sensory differences between wines made from different treatments, and that wines made from smoke-exposed grapes were perceived as having ‘burnt’, ‘smoky’ aromas and an ‘ashy’ aftertaste. Despite levels of free volatile phenols (VPs) being below or close to odour threshold levels for individual phenols, their combination led to a perception of the socalled ‘burnt rubber’ taint perceived in some South African red wines.
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    Interaction effects of 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH), linalool and ethyl hexanoate on the aromatic profile of South African dry Chenin Blanc wine by descriptive analysis (DA)
    (South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2018) Wilson, C.; Brand, J.; Du Toit, W.; Buica, A. S.
    Interaction studies are some of the most interesting sensory experiments that highlight the effect of composition on wine perception. The use of single compounds, viz. an ester (ethyl hexanoate), a terpene (linalool) and a thiol (3-mercaptohexanol, 3MH), which have previously been shown to be representative of Chenin Blanc wines, resulted in typical descriptors for these compounds, such as ‘apple, ‘floral’ and ‘guava’ respectively. Interaction effects were observed between the compounds, and these were reflected in both the nature and the level of attributes generated. Additionally, interaction effects between the compounds (singles and combinations) and the wine matrix indicated that the latter plays an important role in the perception of wine aromas. The use of a dearomatised neutral wine base added an extra dimension to this study, which usually is done in a simpler matrix, such as a model wine.
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    Investigating the concept of South African old vine Chenin blanc
    (South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2020) Mafata, M.; Brand, J.; Panzeri, V.; Buica, A. S.
    Although South African vineyards are still young by European standards, there is a belief in the industry that vines aged 35 or more years produce grapes and wines with specific characteristics (“old vine wines”). The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of the concept of old vine Chenin blanc wines using a typicality rating and sorting tasks. Chenin blanc wines were made from grapes harvested from vines aged five to 45 years old. Winemaking was standardised, with no wood contact. Typicality rating and sorting tasks were performed on young (first-stage) and two-year bottle-aged (second-stage) wines. Principal component analysis (PCA) on rating data demonstrated judge consensus, but no correlation was found between vine age and typicality rating. Sorting results were submitted to agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) performed on the correspondence analysis (CA) and multidimensional scaling (MDS) results for grouping and attributes resulting from the sorting task. The clusters were different for the young wines and two-year bottle-aged wines. The verbal aspect of the sorting demonstrated the judges’ agreement on the concept of old vine Chenin blanc, shown by the annotation of the old vine group as ‘complex’, ‘balance’, ‘rich’ and ‘good mouthfeel’. However, because the judges did not sort the wines according to vine age, the perceptual aspect of the concept could not be confirmed, its features could not be tested further, and the sensory space could not be built.
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    Sorting in combination with quality scoring : a tool for industry professionals to identify drivers of wine quality rapidly
    (South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2018) Brand, J.; Kidd, M.; Van Antwerpen, L.; Valentin, D.; Naes, T.; Nieuwoudt, Helene
    Quality plays an important role in the criteria directing wine product development. The evaluation of sensory characteristics associated with wine quality, as perceived by industry professionals, is therefore important. We investigated the suitability of the free-sorting sensory evaluation method, in combination with wine quality scoring using a 20-point scoring system, to determine the drivers of quality. Eight commercial South African Sauvignon blanc wines were assessed by a panel of 24 wine industry professionals. Free sorting with a verbalisation step to describe the groups, followed by quality scoring using score sheets routinely used in the wine industry, was performed. A multivariate sensory map was constructed using DISTATIS to explain the similarities and differences amongst the set of wines. Correspondence analysis (CA) was applied to the group descriptors, and CA deviates were calculated. Pearson’s correlation coefficients between CA deviates and the quality scores were calculated to identify the drivers of quality. Significant differences in quality were observed between the wines. The sensory attributes “passion fruit”, “green pepper”, “peas”, “asparagus” and “green” were frequently cited by the panel for the wines that received the highest average quality scores, and these attributes were identified as drivers of quality. In this study, a procedure is presented that combines sorting and quality scoring to investigate the relationship between sensory attributes and quality scores to identify the drivers of wine quality. Industry professionals and research environments can use this procedure to determine drivers of wine quality in a single evaluation session.