Quantitative gas chromatography-olfactometry carried out at different dilutions of an extract. Key differences in the odor profiles of four high-quality Spanish aged red wines.

Four Spanish aged red wines made in different wine-making areas have been extracted, and the extracts and their 1:5, 1:50, and 1:500 dilutions have been analyzed by a gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) approach in which three judges evaluated odor intensity on a four-point scale. Sixty-nine different odor regions were detected in the GC-O profiles of wines, 63 of which could be identified. GC-O data have been processed to calculate averaged flavor dilution factors (FD). Different ANOVA strategies have been further applied on FD and on intensity data to check for significant differences among wines and to assess the effects of dilution and the judge. Data show that FD and the average intensity of the odorants are strongly correlated (r(2) = 0.892). However, the measurement of intensity represents a quantitative advantage in terms of detecting differences. For some odorants, dilution exerts a critical role in the detection of differences. Significant differences among wines have been found in 30 of the 69 odorants detected in the experiment. Most of these differences are introduced by grape compounds such as methyl benzoate and terpenols, by compounds released by the wood, such as furfural, (Z)-whiskey lactone, Furaneol, 4-propylguaiacol, eugenol, 4-ethylphenol, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, isoeugenol, and ethyl vanillate, by compounds formed by lactic acid bacteria, such as 2,3-butanedione and acetoine, or by compounds formed during the oxidative storage of wines, such as methional, sotolon, o-aminoacetophenone, and phenylacetic acid. The most important differences from a quantitative point of view are due to 2-methyl-3-mercaptofuran, 4-propylguaiacol, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, and isoeugenol.