Which Impact for β-Damascenone on Red Wines Aroma?

TLDR

beta‑Damascenone is a C‑13 norisoprenoid odorant commonly found in red wines. The study examined its direct contribution to red wine aroma. Free and precursor beta‑Damascenone were isolated from French red wines and quantified by GC‑MS (~1–2 µg/L), and GC‑olfactometry was performed on wine extracts and pure compound dilutions. Olfactometry revealed an extremely low detection threshold, with a >1000‑fold higher threshold in wine than in hydroalcoholic solution; in the latter, beta‑Damascenone enhanced fruity notes and masked herbaceous aroma, indicating an indirect rather than direct influence on red wine aroma.

Abstract

beta-Damascenone, a C-13 norisoprenoid compound, is usually presented as an impact odorant in red wines. Its direct contribution to their aroma was investigated. Both free beta-damascenone and beta-damascenone precursors were isolated from various French red wines and then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, revealing concentrations in the vicinity of 1 and 2 microg/L for free compounds and both forms, respectively. Gas chromatography-olfactometry analyses were also performed on dilutions of both red wine extracts and pure beta-damascenone. The very low detection threshold in olfactometry for this compound explains why it is found at the highest dilution factor in aroma extract dilution analysis methods. Moreover, determination of beta-damascenone's odor thresholds confirmed the huge importance of the matrix: beta-Damascenone is characterized by a very low perception threshold in hydroalcoholic solution as compared to red wine, where it is over 1000-fold higher. In hydroalcoholic solution, beta-damascenone enhanced fruity notes of ethyl cinnamate and caproate and masked the herbaceous aroma of IBMP. Globally, these results suggested that beta-damascenone has more an indirect than a direct impact on red wine aroma.