Electronic nose devices stand out as pioneering innovations in contemporary technological research, addressing the arduous challenge of replicating the complex sense of smell found in humans. Currently, sensor instruments find application in a variety of fields, including environmental, (bio)medical, food, pharmaceutical, and materials production. Particularly the latter, has seen a significant increase in the adoption of technological tools to assess food quality, gradually supplanting human panelists and thus reshaping the entire quality control paradigm in the sector. This process is happening even more rapidly in the world of wine, where olfactory sensory analysis has always played a central role in attributing certain qualities to a wine. In this review, conducted using sources such as PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science, we examined papers published between January 2015 and January 2024. The aim was to explore prevailing trends in the use of human panels and sensory tools (such as the E-nose) in the wine industry. The focus was on the evaluation of wine quality attributes by paying specific attention to geographical origin, sensory defects, and monitoring of production trends. Analyzed results show that the application of E-nose-type sensors performs satisfactorily in that trajectory. Nevertheless, the integration of this type of analysis with more classical methods, such as the trained sensory panel test and with the application of destructive instrument volatile compound (VOC) detection (e.g., gas chromatography), still seems necessary to better explore and investigate the aromatic characteristics of wines.

BACKGROUND: Botrytis cinerea (Bc) is the causative agent of gray mold disease in wine grape bunches. Under particular climatic and edaphic conditions, typical of some wine regions, the grapes infected by this fungus can develop noble rot, the basic phenomenon for the production of sweet botrytized wines or some high‐quality dry wines, such as Amarone. The possibility of early detection of noble rot on plants and at postharvest is an interesting option for managing botrytized wines.RESULTS: The present work aimed at early detection of noble rot and monitoring its development, at postharvest, on Trebbiano wine grapes by means of destructive and non‐destructive analytical approaches (e.g., electronic nose and near‐infrared spectroscopy). The development of Bc led to substantial modifications in grape composition, including dehydration, biosynthesis, and accumulation of different compounds due to Bc metabolism, grape stress responses, or both. However, these modifications are appreciable, notably at advanced stages of infection. Consequently, a specific focus was to monitor the infection in the first 72 h post inoculation for testing, potentially through non‐destructive technologies, and to identify the real early stages of Bc development.CONCLUSION: The destructive chemical analyses performed over the 16 monitored days confirmed what is widely reported in the literature regarding the metabolic/compositional changes that occur following the development of Bc. Moreover, non‐destructive technologies allowed us to identify the evolution of Bc, even at early stages of its presence. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Red wine grapes are qualitatively evaluated for their content in polyphenols and anthocyanins. Due to certain conditions (weather, latitude, temperature), the concentration of these compounds may be not at the right level for reaching a high-quality wine, thus postharvest technologies can be operated as a remediation strategy. Ethanol is a secondary volatile metabolite and its application has been demonstrated to delay fruit ripening, to reduce decay, and to increase secondary metabolites. The present study investigates the effects of ethanol post-harvest application on wine grapes’ metabolism and composition. Red wine grapes (Vitis Vinifera L. cv Aglianico) were exposed to different ethanol doses (0.25, 0.5, or 1 mL L⁻¹) for 12, 24, or 36 h. Ethanol increased sugar concentration, malic acid, free amino nitrogen, polyphenols, and anthocyanins. Particularly, anthocyanins reached an average value of 1820 mg/L in treated samples versus the 1200 mg/L of control grapes already after 12 h whatever the concentration was. Moreover, the highest concentration of ethanol modified berry metabolism shifting from aerobic to anaerobic one. Obtained results suggest that 12 h of ethanol postharvest treatment could be an interesting solution to improve anthocyanins in wine grapes, especially when the quality is not as good as expected.

As an alternative to traditional carbonic maceration (CM), this study explores the use of nitrogen maceration (NM) to create anoxic conditions during winemaking in Vitis vinifera cv. Gamay teinturier. A combination of destructive (HPLC, GC-MS, metabolomics) and non-destructive (NIR-AOTF, metallo-porphyrin E-nose) methods was used to assess the biochemical effects of CO₂ and N₂ atmospheres. Results show that NM enhances the accumulation of anthocyanins and polyphenols in both grapes and wine, likely due to differences in anaerobic metabolism. VOCs analysis and E-nose evaluation revealed only subtle aroma variations, suggesting sensory equivalence between CM and NM wines. From a sustainability perspective, nitrogen offers advantages in terms of safety, availability, and environmental impact. This dual analytical and environmental perspective supports NM as a viable and innovative technique for producing aromatic, pHenolic-rich wines with reduced ecological footprint.

BACKGROUND: The winemaking industry increasingly relies on non‐destructive techniques to support processing activities, particularly in response to climate change‐induced imbalances between technological and phenolic grape maturity. Spectroscopy‐based instruments have become widely available for monitoring key parameters such as total polyphenols, anthocyanins and tannins during maceration and fermentation. Near‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopy presents a promising solution for rapid and efficient analysis, potentially enhancing process control and decision‐making in winemaking.DISCUSSION: This study evaluates the feasibility of a low‐cost NIR spectroscopy‐based prototype for monitoring phenolic extraction in small‐scale fermentations. The device's performance was assessed by correlating spectral data with conventional reference measurements, including total polyphenol index, tannin concentration, colour intensity, anthocyanins and polymeric pigments. Predictive models were developed using partial least squares regression and compared with those obtained from a commercial Fourier transform (FT)‐NIR spectrophotometer to assess the prototype's accuracy and reliability.CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the low‐cost NIR prototype shows potential for monitoring phenolic extraction during fermentation, providing real‐time and non‐destructive measurements. While its predictive performance was slightly lower than that of the commercial FT‐NIR system, the prototype demonstrated promising accuracy, suggesting that with further optimization it could serve as a cost‐effective alternative for wineries seeking rapid and affordable phenolic analysis. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.