SENSORY AND COMPOSITIONAL PROFILES OF BRITISH-COLUMBIA CHARDONNAY ANDPINOT-NOIR WINES

Sensory and compositional analyses were used to profile (i) 1993 Chard onnay wines (n = 16), (ii) 1988-1993 Chardonnay wines (n = 25) and (ii i) 1992-1993 Pinot noir wines (n = 14) from British Columbia (B.C.). A ll wines were analyzed for titratable acidity, pH, absorbance, phenol and alcohol content. In a series of three experiments, 10 judges evalu ated colour, aroma and flavour attributes of all wines in duplicate. P rincipal component analysis of the sensory data for 1993 Chardonnay wi nes indicated a diversity of styles including wines which were both oa ky and buttery to those which were intensely fruity. Wines with oaky c haracter had greater complexity and deeper colour, while those with fr uity character were sweeter and more perfumed. Discriminant analysis i ndicated that, in general, the 1992-1993 vintages were more fruity tha n the 1988-1991 vintages which were more yellow and had higher oak and diacetyl characters. Discriminant analysis also showed specific winer y ''styles''. While some wineries produced fruity, floral wines and ot hers produced wines which were more yellow, oaky, buttery and astringe nt. Principal component analysis of the sensory data for the Pinot noi r wines indicated four major styles of B.C. wines: those which were co mplex with high fruit and berry flavours, those which were intensely r ed, oaky, astringent and spicy, those which were herbaceous, and those which lacked fruit/berry character, astringency and body. Copyright ( C) 1996 Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. Published b y Elsevier Science Ltd