AROMATIC COMPOUNDS IN WINE

This chapter begins by questioning a predetermined categorisation that for years has classified the aromas of wine into primary (those that come from the fruit), secondary (those from winemaking) and tertiary (those developed during ageing) – a differentiation that does not exist or at least draws such blurred lines of separation that this classification, though constantly repeated within the world of wine, cannot be true. This work questions the status quo and, following the Sapiens methodology, proposes a new classification for compounds which are true deceivers -in the best of senses- of our olfactory receptors.

In the chapter we try to answer a key question: how are odorant compounds formed? In addition, we will propose a new classification: varietal compounds, pre-fermentation compounds, fermentation and post-fermentation compounds.

We will also emphasise human perception. The limitations of Homo sapiens mean that our sense of smell perceives the compounds together, often not being able to discriminate them individually and according to their origin. This chapter, in short, will become a guide to aroma, but not the only one, due to the richness and complexity of the subject.