The concept of sensory space was first formulated over 25 years ago and has been widely adopted in oenology for around the last 15 years. It is based on both the common organoleptic characteristics of products and the mental representations built by specific groups of people. Exploring this concept involves first assessing whether it already exists for tasters, and, when this is the case, conducting perceptual evaluations to verify its effectiveness before potentially highlighting the associated sensory properties. The goal of this review, which focuses on applications linked to the field of oenology, is to study how these three steps are carried out, how the corresponding tasks and tests are performed and managed, and the type of results that can be obtained.

International audienceBackground and Aims: The ability to identify odours is important in wine ă tasting. Contradictory results have emerged from studies comparing the ă olfactory identification ability of experts and novices. The aim of this ă study is to extend the characterisation of olfactory capacity of wine ă professionals and to discuss the effect of practice and training on ă odour identification. ă Methods and Results: We used an original method to explore odour ă identification as a function of a semantic and perceptual task: visual ă images of odour sources, forced-choice olfactory identification and ă response time measurements. The performance of 39 wine experts and 41 ă novices was compared. The experts were more accurate than novices in ă olfactory identification; however, their response time was significantly ă longer. ă Conclusions: As a part of their expertise, wine professionals acquire a ă better capacity for identifying wine defects or everyday odorants. ă Significance of the Study: Experts apply a more complex cognitive ă process than novices when confronted with olfactory identification ă tasks. The mechanisms by which experts acquire their superior skill ă probably involve memory and olfactory mental representations, but their ă precise nature remains unclear

The aim of this study was to investigate the sensory aroma profiles of white wines of the indigenous Greek grape varieties Assyrtiko, Malagousia, Moschofilero, and Roditis. Twenty-three panelists evaluated 17 wines of the aforementioned varieties using the frequency of attribute citation method. Three indices were calculated to assess panel performance in terms of reproducibility. Correspondence analysis and cluster analysis were employed to investigate the sensory space of the wines. Samples of the Roditis variety were characterized mainly by Banana and Vanilla odors; Assyrtiko samples had Earthy, Mushroom, and Nutty odors, as well as Lemon and Honey for some of the samples. Malagousia wines were described as having Lemon, Grapefruit, and Citrus blossom character, and they shared some descriptors with Assyrtiko wines, such as Mushroom and Earthy, and some with Moschofilero samples, i.e., floral and citrus notes. All Moschofilero wines exhibited a floral odor profile: specifically, Rose, Jasmine, or more Citrus blossom-like. Moreover, some Moschofilero samples also revealed a Grapefruit, Lemon, and/or Earthy character, while others expressed Honey notes. In conclusion, despite common characteristics found within varieties, some samples of different varieties exhibited overlapping profiles, and in some cases, samples of the same variety were quite different from each other.

In many countries, the consumption of still wine is in strong decline. The market for rose wine, however, stands in stark contrast to this trend, seeing worldwide growth of almost 30% over the last 15 years. For most observers/experts, product colour plays an important role in this paradigm shift. For this reason, companies’ marketing efforts often focus on this purely visual characteristic. There is, however, no certainty that other emerging consumer demands, related to environmental concerns or how “natural” a wine is (organic wines, natural wines, etc.), do not also play a role in the enthusiasm seen in new wine consumers. This article proposes an assessment of expectations related to colour and the decisions made by rose wine consumers, using two complementary experiments carried out in France. The first experiment is based on an online survey studying only consumers’ colour preferences. We will show that, contrary to popular belief, there is no consensus on this criterion, although regional trends can be identified. Typically, the “salmon” shade, which is generally the leader on the global market—and characteristic of Provence wines—does not win unanimous support across all regions. In contrast, an “apricot” shade seems to be preferred by consumers in the Bordeaux region. The second experiment confirms this result within the framework of an experimental market revealing consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). This market also offers consumers the opportunity to taste wines and provides information on organic certification and “naturalness” (symbolised by the absence of added sulphites). We will then demonstrate how the latter criteria, although often popular, play only a small role—compared with colour—in consumer decisions. We will conclude this article with observations on the atypical nature of the rose wine market and on possible avenues for further research related to the emotional role colour plays in wine tasting and its possible specificity in the world of food and drink products.