Determining relationships between flavor chemistry and sensory perception in complex mixtures, such as wine, is very difficult. There are hundreds of flavor compounds in wine contributing to sensory perception of aroma. Some compounds act as direct impact compounds, while others may have indirect effects or impact sensory perception through a range of interactions. Methods used to relate chemical composition to sensory perception do not take into account the many possible ways in which flavor compounds may contribute to aroma. The majority of methods correlate flavor chemicals with sensory perception. Additionally, many methods assume that large chemical differences equate to large sensory differences. It is becoming apparent that this is not always the case. We have applied fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to flavor chemistry and sensory data to overcome these methodological challenges. Using fsQCA it is possible to assess very complex causation involving different combinations of causal conditions capable of generating the same outcome. The focus of fsQCA is on determining the necessary and sufficient factors required for the chosen output, removing unnecessary factors and creating minimal sets of interacting factors. The resulting sets can then be used to build equations that more successfully model complex causality. FsQCA can identify the causal patterns differing across sub-sets of factors allowing for a more complex causal sensory analysis. To elucidate the cause of red fruit aroma in Pinot noir wine, fsQCA was applied. Sensory data was collected from a panel of Pinot noir wine makers using descriptive analysis. Chemical data was collected using HS-SPME-GCMS. Results show several different, highly consistent, combinations of compounds that cause red fruit aroma in Pinot noir. Results agree with previous regression-based research, validating the use of fsQCA as a robust method to deal with the intricacies in determining the causes of aroma and flavor in complex products.

Applying fuzzy-set logic analysis to relationships between flavor chemistry and sensory perception: A case of red fruit aromas in wine

254th National Meeting (2017)

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