Sensory profile: a tool to characterize originality of wines produced without sulfites

A trend to reduce chemical inputs in wines exists, especially sulfur dioxide (SO₂). This additive is widely used due to its antioxidant, antiseptic and antioxidasic properties. During without sulfites vinification, bioprotection by adding yeast at harvest could be an alternative to sulfites. With extension of this wine market preference, sensory impact linked to sulfites absence and/or sulfites alternative should be evaluated. That’s what this research proposes to do, focusing on sensory characteristics of wines produced with or without SO₂ addition during the winemaking process. Wines were elaborated from grapes of two maturity levels according to three modalities: SO₂, without SO₂ and bioprotection on harvest (mix of Torulaspora delbrueckii and Metschnikowia pulcherrima).

Find out after two years of aging, what the sensory studies carried out showed. How many descriptors were generated by the panel to differentiate the wines on which they have been trained? Which wines presented more freshness, cooked fruit notes, or smokeyness? Was it possible to significantly differentiate wines produced with or without SO₂? Was it possible for the tasters to differentiate wines which had been sulfited or not, and differentiate among not sulfited ones the ones that had received bioprotection?

Video of the seminar held during Macrowine virtual (June 23-30, 2021)

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