Influence of yeast strain, canopy management, and site on the volatile composition and sensory attributes of cabernet sauvignon wines from Western Australia

Understanding what factors are the major influences on wine composition will assist in the successful management of grape composition in the vineyard and/or variables in the winery to produce wines with specific sensory attributes. A recently developed analytical method [headspace solid-phase microextraction comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry] was employed to analyze over 350 volatile compounds in research scale wines and was combined with descriptive sensory analysis. Both compositional and sensory results showed significant differences among the wines, and in many cases, multiple factors influenced the abundance of wine volatile compounds. Site had the most significant influence on sensory scores and wine composition, followed by canopy management. Unexpectedly, yeast strain had no significant sensory effect despite the fact that a number of volatile compounds were significantly different in the wines made from different strains. PLS analysis, combining the sensory and chemical analyses, also supports the concept of volatile compound interactions contributing to the aroma characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon wine.