WINETECH Technical Yearbook 2021

SUMMARY Producers have used the flavour potential of this “original” South African grape for different wine styles, one of them being the so-called “coffee-style Pinotage”. The study has shown a clear relationship between the levels of FMT and the perception of coffee aroma in South African coffee style Pinotage wines. However, not all the wines marketed as such were either perceived with a coffee aroma or chemically characterised by higher levels of FMT. The study showed that some of the wines marketed as coffee- style Pinotage would be perceived as so; however, in some cases, it could be more a marketing strategy.

REFERENCES Tominaga, T., Blanchard, L., Darriet, P. & Dubourdieu, D., 2000. A powerful aromatic volati le thiol , 2-furanmethanethiol , exhibiting roast coffee aroma in wines made from several Vitis vinifera grape varieties. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 48(5): 1799-802. Fourie, B.A., 2005. The influence of different barrels and oak derived products on the colour evolution and quality of red wines. MSc Thesis, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, 7602 Matieland, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Fernández de Simón, B., Cadahía, E., Del Álamo, M. & Nevares, I., 2010. Effect of size, seasoning and toasting in the volatile

There was indeed a correlation of 81% between the FMT level and the perception of coffee aroma, indicative of a good correlation between the thiol concentration and the sensory perception. Possibly this is due to the particular aroma this thiol imparts to the wine, or to the Pinotage matrix, or a combination of both. Sensory information was also matched with the information displayed on the front or a back label. Most of the wines marketed as “coffee Pinotage” showed a good correlation between the intensity of coffee aroma and the number of coffee and coffee-related descriptors. However, this was not always the case. Certain wines, despite using several coffee references on the bottle, were perceived with a low intensity.

compounds in toasted oak wood and in a red wine treated with them. Analytica Chimica Acta 660(1-2): 211-20. Mafata, M., Stander, M., Thomachot, B. & Buica, A., 2018. Measuring thiols in single cultivar South African red wines using 4,4-dithiodipyridine (DTDP) derivatiza- tion and ultraperformance convergence chromatography-tandem mass spectrom- etry. Foods (Internet) 7(9): 138. Avail - able from: http://www.mdpi.com/2304- 8158/7/9/138 .

For more information, contact Astrid Buica at astrid.buica@gmail.com.

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