Wine flavor - from vineyard to glass

Winemaking begins in the vineyard and numerous viticultural practices can impact the composition of the wine grapes. During fermentation, new flavor compounds are formed by the yeast. However, many other chemical reactions and processes also mediate the flavor of the final wine. The chemistry doesn’t stop when the wine is bottled; oxidation, hydrolysis and other chemical reactions continue to alter the flavor of the wine over time. Finally, even when we understand these compositional changes it can be difficult to predict wine flavor from the chemical composition. This is due to a variety of aroma-aroma and aroma-matrix interactions that can impact our perception of wine aroma. In this webinar, we will review some of the complexities that impact wine aroma and flavor from the vineyard to the glass.



Bio: Susan Ebeler is a Professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis. Her research focuses on understanding the complexity of wine flavor using analytical tools such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. She also collaborates with sensory scientists to link compositional information to sensory properties. Prof. Ebeler teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on wine analysis and wine flavor. Since 2014 she has served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis.