Brett flavor

Cabernet wine comparison. One of the objectives of the study was to identify the odoi active compounds of wines with "Brett" flavor through sensory analysis and gas chromatography-olfactometry (GCO). Wines identified by their respective winemakers as having "Brett" character were evaluated by a trained expert sensory panel also, using the technique CharmAnalysis (92-94) for GCO analysis, along with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), odor-active compounds were identified by their respective Kovats retention indices (95). Contained below is a... 

Brett flavor in wine The question still remains what is "Brett" flavor Results from our initial work indicates that "Brett" aroma in wine is a complex mixture of odor-active compounds, including acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and phenolics. Analysis by gas chromatography-olfactometry revealed two predominate odor-active compounds responsible for the Brett flavor in the wines studied isovaleric acid and a second unknown compound other identified odor-active compounds included 2-phenyl ethanol, isoamyl alcohol, cis-2-nonenal, trans-2-nonenal, B-damascenone, ethyl decanoate, guaiacol, 4-ethyl guaiacol, 4-ethyl phenol. Our findings are a snapshot into the much larger picture know as Brett flavor. Ultimately this preliminary investigation requires the descriptive analyses of many more wines to know what odor active compounds describe the flavor know as "Brett". 

Rusiniak, K. W., Hankins, W. G., Garcia, J. Brett, L. P. 1979. Flavor-illness aversions potentiation of odor by taste in rats. Behav. Neural Biol. 25, 1—17. 

Despite the traditionally negative connotations surrounding these yeasts, some winemakers question whether or not some Brett character is beneficial in certain styles of wine. In these cases, the organism is thought to play a positive role in flavor and bouquet complexity as well as imparting aged characters in the case of some young red wines. 

Ligker, J.L., T.E. Agree, and T. Henick-Kling. 1999. What is Brett Brettanomyces) flavor A preliminary investigation. In Chemistry of Wine Flavor. A.L. Waterhouse and S.E. Ebeler (Eds.), pp. 96-115. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. 

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