Seminario ‘Wine fruity esters and their aroma synergistic mechanism’

Wine aroma profile is a prominent feature of wine quality, and esters are considered one of the most targeted compounds because of their olfactory contribution to desired fruity and floral attributes.

Fruity esters in wine include acetate esters and fatty acid ethyl esters, which are mainly metabolized by yeast through reaction between fatty acids and alcohols during alcoholic fermentation, and are influenced by yeast, grape, nitrogen nutrition, and dissolved oxygen level.

On the other hand, interactions between esters and other odorants, especially key odorants, can lead to indirect positive effects on the wine aroma profiles. Fruity esters enhance the sweet, floral, and fruity traits of citronellol, β-damascenone, and nerolidol, especially at subthreshold levels. Meanwhile, esters increased the floral and fruity characteristics of fermentative odorants mainly by additive effects, with acetate esters possessing a better synergy ability.

Additionally, moderately subjoining the type and content of esters in wine proved that their synergy effects improved the sweet trait and decreased the sour fruit trait.