The Sensory Effects of Preor Post-Fermentation Thermal Processing on Chardonnay and Semillon Wines

Abstract

Sensory investigations were made on Chardonnay and Semillon wines that had been subjected to pilot-scale heat treatment, protected from air, at approximately 90°C for several minutes, or storage at 45°C for three weeks. Additionally, wines prepared from juices that were subjected to the high temperature treatment were evaluated by sensory methods. The 45°C treatment was replicated on a laboratory-scale using wines from a different vintage. Duo-trio difference tests showed that the 45°C treatment gave wines that were highly significantly different from the controls. These wines were subjected to sensory descriptive analysis. The results showed that heating decreased the floral character of the wines and enhanced characters such as oak, honey, and smoky. These attributes were characteristics of bottle-aged wines that were also analyzed in the study. Heat treatments of juices and wines at 90°C produced wines which were not generally significantly different from their respective controls.