RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Physiology of Human Sensory Response to Wine: A Review
JF American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
JO Am J Enol Vitic.
FD American Society for Enology and Viticulture
SP 271
OP 279
DO 10.5344/ajev.1997.48.3.271
VO 48
IS 3
A1 John H. Thorngate, II1
YR 1997
UL http://www.ajevonline.org/content/48/3/271.abstract
AB Wine is an complex beverage, from a sensory as well as a chemical point of view. Wine can elicit a large number of olfactory responses, in addition to the taste responses of sweet, sour, and bitter, and the oral sensations of astringency, irritation, viscosity, and temperature. The physiology underlying the transduction of these sensory signals is equally complex, and is just beginning to be understood. It is now known that a large number of olfactory receptors are expressed in the olfactory epithelium, with axonal convergence at the glomeruli level in the olfactory bulb. There appear to be at least two antagonistic second-messenger systems utilized in olfactory transduction. Gustation, on the other hand, appears to utilize a variety of transduction mechanisms, including direct ion influx, receptor-dependent and receptor-independent ion channels, and regulation of membrane permeability. Oral sensation represents a third frontier of study; current research indicates that we have yet to develop an effective language for describing the breadth of perceived oral sensations. The implications of differential response for olfactory and gustatory sensory research are briefly discussed.