Sensory Analysis to Inform Breeding Decisions in a Segregating Grapevine Population

In plant breeding settings, the flavor and aroma of new cultivars are traditionally evaluated based on the judgements of breeders or small technical groups without using data from sensory panels. A sensory descriptive analysis is one of the primary sensory evaluation techniques used to discriminate products. Because of time and monetary costs, descriptive analysis methodology has not been explored in grape breeding to advance the selection of target traits associated with the eating experience. We explored sensory evaluation methodology for screening grape ( Vitis spp.) seedlings of a mapping family and generating quality sensory data for further genetic studies. In 2018, we developed a lexicon with 29 sensory attributes, including five aroma attributes, three basic taste attributes, and 19 flavor attributes. Participants were able to characterize differences in 26 of the attributes among the genotypes tested. Malic acid (MA) and titratable acidity (TA) were positively correlated with sourness, citronella, lime, lemon, green apple, and kiwi flavors. Total soluble solids (°Brix) were positively correlated with sweetness, aroma intensity, flavor intensity, and floral flavor. Sweetness was positively correlated with overall aroma, taste, flavor intensities, floral and Concord aromas as well as floral, fruity, and Concord flavors. A hierarchical cluster analysis separated the genotypes into seven distinct groups, including cluster 1, which included most genotypes with low flavor and aroma intensities for all attributes, and cluster 7 with individuals with the herbaceous/green flavor and aroma. The most promising cluster genotypes for table grape breeding were included in cluster 6. They were characterized by fruity, floral, and labrusca (‘Concord’) attributes. The methodology developed for this study can be exploited in plant breeding research to characterize the variation of flavor and aroma traits in mapping families.