The technique exploits the unique and complex mix of thousands of compounds found in each bottle of wine that gives it multitude of aromas and flavours. Wine experts and sommeliers use the smell and taste of some of these compounds to identify types and vintages of wines while tasting.
The researchers have gone a step further and claim they can pinpoint where a wine was made and even which barrel it was fermented in.
A mass spectrometer was used in experiments to analyse the compounds in vaporised wine samples to produce detailed chemical signatures that can be matched against a database of characteristics to identify the origins of a wine. Thus they can pinpoint which varietal was used from which region or vineyard and even the source of wood used in the barrel.
The lead researcher Regis Gougeon of the University of Bourgogne in Dijon reportedly said: "In winemaking, several processes can subtly modulate the characteristics of wine. The experts use their eyes, mouth and nose as detectors and are able to distinguish wines according to their ages, grape varieties, and terroir. All we know is that so far, none of the sensory analyses of the wines we looked at could discriminate like we did.”
The flavour and aroma of a wine is influenced by a range of factors from the grapes used, the soil they were grown in, the climate at the time, the yeasts that aided the fermenting process and the wood used to make the barrels for aging the wine. As each forest has its own soil characteristics, the chemicals that seep into wine will vary depending on where the timber that was used in the barrels grew.
Until now scientists have focused on a narrow band of chemicals that could give them information about a wine's age or variety of grape. But the researchers found that by analysing the entire mix of compounds on a sample of wine, they could obtain distinct signatures that can be used to trace a wine's history.
This study could also come in handy in proving if the wine is counterfeit. |