Interesting read

[wineguruchgo]

Shiraz mystery uncorked

August 1, 2007

Itis a mystery as old as humanity's love affair with the fermented grape: what makes red wine taste like red wine?

For thousands of years the species has variously sipped, slurped and gulped its way through all manner of scarlet succour, but no scientist, vigneron or seasoned drinker has unlocked any of the secrets of its taste.

Until now, that is.

After several years working away in a laboratory in Adelaide, a team of Australian wine scientists has discovered the precise chemical compound that makes a shiraz taste peppery.

It is the first time a single taste compound has been identified in red wine, enabling winemakers to give consumers exactly what they want.

Professor Sakkie Pretorius, managing director of the Australian Wine Research Institute, where the discovery was made, has no doubt of its significance.

"It's one of the biggest breakthroughs in red wine aroma chemistry in the past few decades," he said. "It's so exciting I can't sit in my own skin at the moment."

Scientists at the institute discovered the spicy compound, called rotundone, late last year but kept it secret while securing a patent.

The discovery promises to revolutionise the way wine is made. Producers, who previously relied on luck and traditional fermenting techniques, will be able to manipulate environmental conditions such as shade and moisture levels to control the pepper flavours in shiraz.

Researcher Dr Alan Pollnitz said the breakthrough would spur more wine research, and might also be applied by scientists working with other food and beverages.

[Bucko]

Great -- we're only a few steps away from designer wines. [img]http://wines.com/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

[winoweenie]

Worked for me sun-glasses. WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

[brappy]

Sounds like crap to me........ This really has NO effect....

[Drew]

Personally I don't believe it and, if by chance it's true, probably one of the worst discoveries that will invite manipulation and cloned wines.

Drew

[wondersofwine]

Glad you share my sentiments.

When I attended the recent "tomato dinner" at Zely & Ritz, I did ask the speaker, prominent in growing heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, etc. and in seed exchange and preservation if they had come up with any eggplants with fewer seeds (which would be practical for ratatouille and other dishes.) He said there are some species that are almost seedless. This I could use as long as the flavor is still good. (He did a little rant about industry efforts to grow "square" tomatoes (stack easier and fit into square boxes), thick-skinned tomatoes (bruise less in shipment) and tomatoes that don't spoil as quickly in shipment and how they are generally flavorless.)

[Innkeeper]

Why does wine engineering only bother you guys when it comes to flavor? Does this mean you don't mean altering color with highly concentrated purple dye (also developed in Oz I think), or alcohol level and other acts of concentration with reverse osmosis, etc, etc.

I know that flavor is critical, but once you have established a slippery slope, it is hard to reverse course. These other abomintations have been around for years.

[Bucko]

If they want to add color, they can accomplish that naturally with grapes such as Alicante Bouchet.

I personally like winemakers with a hands-off approach. I don't want a "manufactured" wine in my glass.