WHICH IMPACT FOR BETA-DAMASCENONE ON RED WINES AROMA?
Bénédicte Pineau, Jean-Christophe Barbe, Cornelis Van Leeuwen, and Denis Dubourdieu, J. Agric. Food Chem., 55 (10), 4103 -4108, 2007
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 g/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: -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.
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Published on 09/24/2007