Sensitivity Threshold for Selected Aromas and Defects in Casual Wine Consumers

ABSTRACT Wine aromas and faults are caused by chemical compounds impacting wine quality that can originate from viticulture, vinification, bottling, or aging. Wine professionals are highly trained to recognize and assess quality indicators including characteristic aromas and faults/defects. However, consumers make the majority of wine purchasing decisions, and their sensitivities to these characteristics can vary greatly across individuals. Sixty‐eight casual wine consumers evaluated seven odor compounds: 2,4,6‐trichloroanisole (TCA), the main compound responsible for “Cork Taint”; a mixture of 4‐ethylphenol and 4‐Ethylguaiacol (4EP/4EG), the main compounds responsible for “Brett character”; Acetic Acid, an indicator of volatile acidity (oxidation); Diacetyl, “butter odor”; ß‐ionone, “fruity/floral odor”; 1‐octen‐3‐one, “mushroom odor”; and 2,5‐dimethyl‐3‐methoxypyrazine (DMMP), “green/earthy odor.” All chemical standards were prepared in water solutions. Individual Best‐Estimate Thresholds (BET) of the olfactory perception of the compounds were measured, and group mean detection thresholds were determined using regression analysis with Abbott's formula. The results showed that consumers were insensitive to most of the aromas, but highly sensitive to Brett character, which is commonly found in commercial wines.