Theenigma*cno*onofperceivedmineralityinwhitewine

1WendyV.Parr,2JordiBallester,2DominiqueValen*n,2DominiquePeyron,&3ClaireGrose

1LincolnUniversity,Christchurch,NZ;2UniversitédeBourgogne,Dijon,

France;3PlantandFoodResearch,Marlborough,NZ

Mineralityin

wine?

Mineralityinwine

•  Fashionableno*on– Increasinglyreportedasawinedescriptor

•  Goodformarke*ng– Linkswiththeconceptofterroirorprovenance

•  Unlikelythatwearetas*ngdirectlythevineyardrocks&soil(Maltman,2013)

So,whatarewetas*ng?

Isitallinthemind?

Inonesense,yes:•  Flavour(minerality)isinthebrain,notinthewine•  Thebrainintegratesthesensoryinputsviapercep*on

Allinthemind?

Allinthemind?Mentalconstructorsensorialreality?

•  Whatareweperceivingthatwewanttolabelasmineral?–  i.e.,whatinwineevokesgeological

metaphorsviaassocia*vememory?Flinty;silex;smoky;chalky;calcareous;oystershell;iodine;fossils;wetstones;stony;earthy;pencillead;graphite;matchs*ck;gunflint;struckmatch

So,theques*onofinterestis:

•  Arewesensingspecificcharactersinwine?– Data-drivenpercep*onbasedonthephenomenologicalproper*esofthewine

•  Or,ismineralityprimarilyamentalconstruc*on?– Top-down,orknowledge-based,percep*on

•  Andisourexperienceofperceivedmineralityinwinesharedbyothers?– Withinaculture?– Acrosscultures?

Study:PerceivedmineralityinFrench&NZSauvignonwines

Qsarisingfromthemedia&anecdotalreports:

•  Canmineralitybesmelled,orisitapalatesensa*ononly?

•  Howisperceivedmineralityrelatedtoaspectsofacidity?

•  Doesperceivedmineralityhaveitsbasisinrela*veabsenceofvarietalflavour?

•  Howisperceivedmineralityrelatedtopercep*onofreduc*vecharacteris*cs?

•  Whatotherwinecharacteris*csassociatewithordrivepercep*onofmineralcharacter?

Sauvignonstudy:Whatdidthe‘tasters’do?

(Parretal.,FQAP,2015)•  32French&31NZwineprofessionalsassessed

French&NZ100%Sauvignons(2010vintage)– Theycategorised&ratedwineafributesof16wines,includingjudgingminerality

•  Each‘taster’assessedthewinesvia3modesofpercep*on

•  Smellingonly•  Full‘tas*ng’• Palateonly:taste&trigeminal(mouthfeel)

English French Nose only cond.

Nose clip cond.

Global cond.

Mineral Minéral yes yes yes Passionfruit Fruit de la passion yes no yes Herbaceous Herbe coupée yes no yes Boxwood/cat's urine Buis / pipi de chat yes no yes Citrus (lemon; grapefruit) Agrumes (citron, pamplemousse) yes no yes

Green (vegetal/green capsicum)

Végétal / poivron vert yes no yes

Sweetness Sucré no yes yes Bitterness Amertume no yes yes Acidity/sourness Acidité / Vivacité no yes yes Astringency Astringent / sécheresse no yes yes Concentration (for nose only) Concentration /palate weight

Concentration (nez) Corps/volume en bouche

yes yes yes

Freshness/zingy Fraîcheur yes yes yes Flinty/stony/ smoky/gun flint/ Pierre a fusil / silex frotté/fumé yes yes

yes

Chalky/calcareous Craie/calcaire yes yes yes Oyster shell/iodine Coquillages/iodé yes no yes Pencil/lead/graphite Mine de crayon / graphite yes yes yes Matchstick/struck match/ burnt

rubber/sulphide Allumette / allumette grattée / phosphore/ Caoutchou brule / souffre / reduit

yes no yes

Complexity Complexité yes no yes Familiarity Familiarité yes no yes Liking Aimez ce vin? yes no yes

Whatdidwefind?FrenchandNZwineswerejudgedsimilarlyintermsofoverallintensityofmineralcharacter

FBCBB

FBCLM

FLCH

FLPC

FSBAGA

FSBI

FSFC FSHB

NZAVFB NZAVV

NZLWB

NZLWWH

NZRS

NZRSL

NZSVA NZSVCH

Mineral NC

Mineral O Mineral G

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

F2 (2

4,83

%)

F1 (69,44 %)

Biplot (axes F1 et F2 : 94,27 %)

Howwerethewinescharacterised?FrenchFreeSor*ngColoursrepresentMDSclusters

pyrazine

good balance

acidic

varietal character boxwood

fruit

tropical mineral

asparagus

expressive aromatics

reductive

cat pee

citrus floral

herbaceous

bitter

faulty

terroir expression creamy

oxidised unripe

oak

smokey

NZRSL

FSHB

NZAVFB FSFC

FBCLM FSBI

NZRS

FSBAGA

FLCH

FLPC NZSVA

NZLWWH

FBCBB

NZLWB

NZAVV

NZSVCH

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

F2(2

0,50%)

F1(39,00%)

FRaxesF1etF2:59,50%

Howwerethewinescharacterised?NZFreeSor*ngColoursrepresentMDSclusters

FSHB

FBCBB

NZSVCH FLCH

NZLWB NZLWWH

NZRS NZAVFB NZAVV

FSBI

FSBAGA

FSFC

FLPC

NZRSL

NZSVA

FBCLM

tropical

herbaceous

acidic reductive

pyrazine

boxwood

ripe

aged citrus

faulty

complex

unripe

good balance

simple thin oak

varietal character gooseberry

expressive aromatics

good weight

mineral lack of varietal character

oxidised

grapefruit

lack acidity

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2

F2(1

5,33%)

F1(48,13%)

NZ_axesF1etF2:63,45%

Canmineralbesmelled?

•  Bothculturesreportedperceivingmineralityviaeachmodeofpercep*on–  i.e.,bysmellaloneandbypalatealone(taste&mouthfeel)

•  FrenchtastersreliedmoreontheirnosesthanNZersintheirfull-tas*ngjudgmentsofminerality,NZersrelyingequallyonolfac*on(smelling)andpalatephenomena

So,whichwineafributespredictedperceivedmineralityinSauvignonwine?

Andwastheremuchconsensusacrosscultures?

RegressionofMineralbyotherdescriptors:NoseonlyMul*pleLinearRegression:alpha<0.05

Predictors France

t p Predictors New Zealand

t p

Citrus 5.29 < 0.0001 Citrus 3.78 < 0.001

Passionfruit -4.64 < 0.0001 Passionfruit -3.37 < 0.001

Chalky/calc 6.75 < 0.0001 Chalky/calc 5.94 < 0.0001

Flint/smo 9.75 < 0.0001 Flint/smo 7.23 < 0.0001

Lead/graph 2.62 <.01 Lead/graph 4.51 < 0.0001

Liking 3.10 < 0.01 Liking 3.01 < 0.01

Fresh/zingy 2.51 < 0.05 Concentrat -2.05 < 0.05

Iodi/oyster 2.09 < 0.05

RegressionofMineralbyotherdescriptors:Fulltas*ngMul*pleLinearRegression:alpha<0.05

Predictors France

t p Predictors New Zealand

t p

Citrus 4.22 < 0.0001 Citrus 2.09 < 0.05

Passfruit -2.12 < 0.05 Green -2.42 < 0.05

Bitter 2.08 < 0.05 Bitter 2.34 < 0.05

Chalky/calc 2.05 < 0.05 Chalky/calc 4.51 < 0.0001

Flint/smo 4.61 < 0.0001 Astringent -2.17 < 0.05

Sweet -6.57 < 0.0001 Fresh/zingy 2.20 < 0.05

Lead/graphite 2.81 <.01 Herbaceous 2.23 < 0.05

Liking 1.98 < 0.05 Conc/Wght 2.48 < 0.05

RegressionofMineralbyotherdescriptors:PalateonlyMul*pleLinearRegression:alpha<0.05

Predictors France

t p Predictors New Zealand

t p

Fresh/zingy 5.22 < 0.0001 Fresh/zingy 4.00 < 0.0001

Flint/smo 8.53 < 0.0001 Flint/smo 4.44 < 0.0001

Chalky/calc 6.66 < 0.0001 Chalky/calc 6.93 < 0.0001

Sour/acid -2.26 < 0.05 Sour/acid -2.26 < 0.05

Sweet -4.33 < 0.05 Lead/graph 2.02 < 0.05

Bitter 3.97 < 0.0001

PalateWght 5.37 < 0.0001

StudyonBurgundyChardonnaywithBurgundytasters(Ballesteretal.,2013,AJGWR)

34wineprofessionalsjudged16Burgundywinesonwineafributesincludingminerality&itsassumedsub-components

Ques*onsaskedbythestudy:1.  Howdowine‘experts’conceptualiseminerality?Cantheyjudgewinemineralityinaconsensualway?–  Bysmellalone?–  Onthepalate,withoutthearomas?

2.  Whatarethesub-dimensionsofminerality?

Chardonnaystudy:Outcomes•  Therewaslifleagreementinjudgmentsof

intensityofmineralcharacterwhentheChardonnaywineswereassessedsensoriallyby:•  Noseonly•  Palateonly(Nose-clip)

•  Moreagreementwhenthe‘experts’wereaskedtodefinemineralitylinguis*cally•  Mostcommontermsassociatedwithminerality:

•  Stone-relatedterms(e.g.,silex)=21%ofcita*ons•  Acidity/freshness=17%ofcita*ons•  Sea-shoreterms(iodine;shellfish)=15%

Interpreta*on

•  JudgmentsofmineralinSauvignonwinesappeartobebasedondata-driveninput(wineafributes),notjustsmartmarke*ng•  Understandingpreciselywhichafributesareimplicatedrequiresfurtherwork

•  Muchwithin-cultureandacross-culture(Fr;NZ)consensusastothecharactersdrivingmineraljudgmentsinSauvignonwine– Citrusnotesandfresh/zingycharacter– Flinty,smoky,chalky,calcareous,lead,graphite– Absenceofpassionfruitonnose

Interpreta*oncont.

•  Winevarietaldifferencesmayinfluencehowmineralityisperceivedinwine– TheChardonnaydataaremoredifficulttointerpret• Rela*veconsistencyamongstFrenchoenologistsinverbaldescrip*ons

•  LifleconsensusamongstthemwhenjudgingsensoriallyintensityofmineralityinBurgundyChardonnays

Thisisunderfurtherinves*ga*on…………

Workinprogress

Aspectsofwinecomposi*onthatunderliepercep*onofmineralcharacter

Acknowledgement

•  OurtastersinFrance&NZ•  Fundingproviders:

– GrapeandWineResearchProgramme,PFR,NZ– NewZealandWinegrowers– PernodRicardNZ&PernodRicardResearchCentre,Paris,France

– RegionalCouncilofBurgundy– BureauInterprofessionneldesVinsdeBourgogneandConseilInterprofessioneldesVinsdeBordeaux

– RoyalSocietyofNewZealandISATLinkagesFund

And thank you for your attention