Influence of geographic origin on aromatic descriptors of Spanish Albariño wine

Young white wines, of the Albariño variety, from different areas of Denomination of Origin Rías Baixas in Galicia (northwest Spain) were evaluated using sensory descriptive analyses by a panel of professional wine tasters. In the first phase of analysis, the wine tasters identified 37 aromatic descriptors in five sessions. The descriptors were then reduced to 17 using statistical methods. In the second phase, the wine tasters identified and rated the intensity of these descriptors for each wine evaluated. Characteristic aromatic descriptors were found in Albariño wines from each particular area. Seven sensory attributes were significantly different (p < 0.05) between the wines (Ripe Fruit, Lactic, Pineapple, Banana, Pear, Citrus fruit and Floral). Principal component analysis of the sensory data permitted differentiation between Albariño wines from different geographic areas in Rías Baixas. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.