Review
A comprehensive review on Sauvignon blanc aroma with a focus on certain positive volatile thiols

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2011.09.017Get rights and content

Abstract

Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sauvignon blanc wines have become increasingly popular as it is a cultivar that can be influenced in the vineyard and the cellar to produce a range of wine styles. Although originally from France, Sauvignon blanc is now widely cultivated in the wine growing regions of the world. These wines are usually given aroma descriptors such as green pepper, grassy, asparagus; while other more tropical aromas include passion fruit and guava. Volatile thiols, specifically 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one, 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol and 3-mercaptohexyl acetate, are a group of chemical compounds contributing to a large extent to the perception of the tropical aroma. A recent influx of new research has given insight into the precursors, development and reactions of volatile thiols in Sauvignon blanc must and wine. As there is currently much interest in these compounds, this review will focus on these volatile thiols, but will also discuss the role of other compounds that could influence the aroma of Sauvignon blanc. This paper could assist researchers and winemakers by giving a comprehensive review of Sauvignon blanc aroma, with a particular focus on certain sought after volatile thiols.

Highlights

► Sauvignon blanc aroma review. ► Volatile thiol formation, precursors, oxidation, wine making effects. ► Other typical Sauvignon blanc aroma compounds. ► Further required research on thiols.

Introduction

Typical aroma of Sauvignon blanc wine can be described as vegetative, grassy, herbaceous, gooseberry, asparagus, green pepper, capsicum, tomato leaf, grapefruit and passion fruit (Swiegers, Francis, Herderich, & Pretorius, 2006). The aroma characteristics of Sauvignon blanc develop considerably during fermentation leading to very aromatic wines. Sauvignon blanc wines tend to be crisp and acidic on the palate and are often divided into two classes, “green” (vegetative, grassy, herbaceous, asparagus, green pepper, capsicum, tomato leaf) and “tropical” (gooseberry, grapefruit and passion fruit). In 1994, Marais published a review article on Sauvignon blanc aroma. This review focussed mainly on the effect of the methoxypyrazines responsible for the “green” character in Sauvignon blanc wines (Marais, 1994). The origin, precursors and development during winemaking of the aroma compounds responsible for some of the “tropical” flavour in Sauvignon blanc and other wines have only been recently established (Capone and Jeffery, 2011, Coetzee, 2011, Fedrizzi et al., 2009, Murat et al., 2001, Nikolantonaki et al., 2010, Roland, Cavelier, et al., 2011, Swiegers and Pretorius, 2007). This review will focus especially on one group of impact aroma compounds in Sauvignon blanc wines, the volatile thiols (also referred to as varietal thiols), of which recently a large amount new data has come to the fore. This data is summarised in Table 1 in a simplified manner and serves to elucidate the influence of different viticultural and oenological factors on the precursor concentration in die berries and must as well as the volatile thiol content in wine. These influencing factors as well as the origin and the reaction of these volatile thiols and some of their precursors to oxidation are also discussed in full in the review. Other compounds affecting Sauvignon blanc aroma such as methoxypyrazines, esters, higher alcohols, fatty acids and monoterpenes are also mentioned.

Section snippets

Thiol compounds

Volatile sulphur compounds in wine can be divided into two categories. On the one hand, certain volatile sulphur compounds may impart negative aromas, such as a rotten egg, which originate from the formation of H2S by wine yeast (Henschke and Jiranek, 1993, Rauhut, 1993). The production of secondary reductive odours can also contribute to negative off-odours described as cooked vegetables, onion and cabbage caused by sulphur containing compounds such as thioacetic acid esters and mercaptans and

Conclusions

Sauvignon blanc is a versatile grape variety which can deliver different styles of wines depending on the viticultural and oenological practices employed. This review gave an overview on some main volatile thiols impacting on Sauvignon blanc flavour. The origin and evolution of these compounds during winemaking was also discussed.

It is clear that volatile thiols play a critical role in the flavour of Sauvignon blanc, due to their extremely low perception threshold. Winemakers may use recent

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Winetech, Thrip and the NRF for financial support.

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