Evaluation of the aroma descriptors variability in Spanish grape cultivars by quantitative descriptive analysis.

Resumo

Aroma descriptors variability was evaluated by quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) in Spanish cultivars. Abariño, Mencía and Godello cultivars were evaluated by three expert panels by using monovarietal wines. The frequency and intensity of aroma descriptors was evaluated and geometric mean (GM) was calculated. The largest differences between cultivars were shown by principal component analysis (PCA). Albariño cultivar was characterised by Ripe fruit, Apple and Fruit descriptors; Mencía cultivar was Balsamic and Red fruit, while Citric, Grass, Pineapple, Toasting, Tropical, Dry grass, Pear, Melon and Floral were the attributes of the Godello cultivar. According to GM obtained of aroma attributes from, a positive correlation was found between Albariño and Godello cultivars. The QDA and PCA have contributing to define the aroma of different Spanish grape cultivars (Albariño, Mencía and Godello) by analysis of the monovarietal wines. The results obtained suggest that QDA is a good tool to evaluate the sensory variability of a product, when the tasting panel is good trained. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.