Consumer interest in specialty beers in three European markets.

This study explores the quality perception of specialty beers (SBs) in Italy, Spain and Poland. Five-hundred and fifty mainstream beer consumers were enrolled in this study (two-hundred and thirty Italians, one hundred and sixty Poles and Spaniards respectively). The authors adopted a conjoint rating experiment in which the respondents were given forty SB profiles to evaluate. Each profile was described on six attributes (malt type, adjuncts, alternative source of sugars, characterizing ingredients, sensory characteristics, and retail price) varied at different levels and were asked to state his/her preference for each profile on a 9-point scale of interest. The results of this study showed that the ideal SB: (1) for the aggregate Polish panel is brewed from malted wheat, raw wheat, honey, and tropical fruits, is alcoholic and is priced below 2.00 Euros; (2) for the aggregate Italian panel consists of a beer brewed from malted wheat, maize, honey, and vanilla, is blonde and costs a maximum of 2.00 Euros; (3) for the aggregate Spanish panel is brewed from malted wheat, rye or maize, vanilla, is fruity and is priced below 2.00 Euros. The heterogeneity of interest in specialty beers observed in the three countries under test requires for the adaptation of a SB specifically to each culture in which it is sold. In this process of customization, brewers must take into account that gender modulates the effect of culture on consumer interest in SB sensory characteristics and ingredient formulation.

Off-flavours in wines through indirect transfer of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from coatings.

This paper assesses the impact of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the drying of coatings on the sensory characters of corks and wines. According to Italian National Standard Method 11021:2002, a small-scale chamber was used (1) to expose wines to the drying of coatings with both low and high VOCs, and (2) to expose corks to the same coatings. After exposure to the coatings, the corks were then placed in direct contact with wine. Different styles of white, red and rose wines were tested. In both directly exposed wines and in wines after contact with the exposed cork, the taste and smell off-flavour perception and intensity were assessed by a panel of eight experienced wine tasters using a five-point numerical scale according to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard methods. The results showed that the sensory characters of wines, especially taste, were influenced by the VOC content of the coatings. The taste off-flavour perception was found to be higher than the smell in wines exposed to coatings with either high or low VOCs contents. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan analysis prove that: (1) panellist's answers were significantly different, (2) it was difficult to differentiate the off-flavour perception on the high-level scale, and (3) the panellist off-flavour perceptions versus wine style discriminated the wines into two groups (red and white/rose). For all the wine styles, Pearson's test showed no significant correlation between off-flavour perception levels and the main chemical characters of the wines. For the wines that were in direct contact with the exposed corks, the panellists detect the off-flavours according to the levels of VOCs in the coating and wine styles and they assessed the highest levels of alteration were to the taste.

Transformation ability of fungi isolated from cork and grape to produce 2,4,6-trichloroanisole from 2,4,6-trichlorophenol.

The ability of eight fungal strains to transform 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) to 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) was studied. These fungi were isolated from cork, belonging to the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma and Chrysonilia, and from grapes Botrytis cinerea. All, except Chrysonilia, produced TCA when grown directly on cork in the presence of TCP, Aspergillus and Botrytis cinerea being the ones with the highest level of production. It is the first time that Botrytis cinerea, a microorganism often present on grapes and in winery environments, has been shown to transform TCP into TCA. This result can partially explain the wine cork taint before being bottled.

The role of processing on ochratoxin A content in Italian must and wine: a study on naturally contaminated grapes.

Available data show that ochratoxin A (OTA) is a possible contaminant of wine and its concentration is higher in red wines than in white and rosé. The aim of this work was to study the fate of OTA during the main stages of the winemaking process (crushing, maceration, alcoholic fermentation, malo-lactic fermentation, bottle-aging) and the influence of technological treatments on OTA concentration in order to identify the critical process steps. Attention was focused on red winemaking, in different wineries in the south of Italy, with two naturally OTA contaminated grape varieties ('Negroamaro' and 'Primitivo') and on different vintages (2001-2002-2003). The results show that no OTA is produced during winemaking, but each operation during winemaking can modify OTA content. The OTA present in grapes to a certain degree is released to the juice during crushing. Maceration increases the OTA content, while alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation cause a reduction in OTA in the wine.