Aroma and Sensory Characteristics of Sherry Wines Evolution During Aging

AROMA AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF SHERRY WINES EVOLUTION DURING AGING 

Angeles Pozo-Bayon and M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas 

Other lactones detected include a-butyrolactone and pantolactone (2,4-hydroxy-3,3-dimethylbutyrolactone), both of which are typical of sherries. Besides the duration of aging, their concentration is closely linked to yeast strain (Zea et al., 1995). Another lactone, solerone (4- 

Lactones derived from oak constitute an important flavorant in most wines aged in barrel. However, because sherries are aged in cask that are rarely emptied or cleaned, they derive few lactones from the wood. Their detection is possible only in stages containing the oldest wine (Chatonnet et ah, 1990). 

One way to quantify the odor impact of a compound is to determine the aroma value or odor activity value (OAV). This is calculated by dividing the concentration of the compound by its perception threshold. Therefore, the odor impact of a compound increases in proportion to its OAV when this value is 1. Thus, compounds exhibiting higher OAV values are more likely to contribute to the aroma of wine and have an important influence on its sensory characteristics. 

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