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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419016
Research Project: Improved Fruit, Grape and Wine Products through Precision Agriculture and Quality Component Evaluation

Location: Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit

Title: Early oxidation detection in white wine by electronic tongue: A preliminary study

Author
item POTTER, RACHEL - Washington State University
item Lee, Jungmin
item ROSS, CAROLYN - Washington State University

Submitted to: Journal of Food Science and Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2025
Publication Date: 5/28/2025
Citation: Potter, R.I., Lee, J., Ross, C.F. 2025. Early oxidation detection in white wine by electronic tongue: A preliminary study. Journal of Food Science and Nutrition. 13(6). Article e70366. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.70366.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.70366

Interpretive Summary: Tools permitting early detection of wine faults are important for winemakers, and allow corrections to products before releasing them to consumers. Many wine problems are traditionally discovered by continuous tasting throughout production, though this can be subjective and cause palate fatigue. Electronic tongue (e-tongue) is a relatively new device that has started to be applied to wine fault monitoring in both red and white wines. This work was carried out to determine if white wine oxidation (changes that occur after exposed to air) faults can be picked up by e-tongue alongside a human sensory panel. E-tongue was able to sense a change eight weeks before the human sensory panel was able to notice it. Study results indicate e-tongue is a potentially effective tool for monitoring white wine quality.

Technical Abstract: In white wines, early detection of oxidation would alert winemakers to monitor potentially troubled wine closer and take preventative measures to mitigate undesirable browning, flavors, and odors forming in their products. Current early oxidation detection methods include assessment by browning index, trained sensory panels, and quantification of byproducts such as quinones. This study was to assess the capability of the e-tongue, a fairly new instrument used to detect wine faults caused by spoilage organisms, in detecting early oxidative changes in Chardonnay. Clear bottles of Chardonnay were stored partially unscrewed (treatment) in the dark at 2.2°C for 24 weeks. Wines were assessed at seven-time intervals (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 weeks) using the e-tongue and a semi-trained sensory panel with rate-all-that-apply descriptors. Beginning at week 8 of storage, the e-tongue pattern discrimination indices between treated wine and control (freshly opened) were high (DI>80%) and remained high throughout the study, indicating that the e-tongue distinguished between treated and control samples. However, sensory panelists only detected an increase in the intensity of vinegar/nail polish remover aroma attributes, attributes associated with wine oxidation, starting at week 16 of storage. These results suggest that the e-tongue is a useful tool in early detection of oxidized wine samples, compared to a sensory panel that perceived the differences between treated and control wines eight additional weeks later.