Atypical Aging Defect: Sensory Discrimination, Viticultural Causes, and Enological Consequences. A Review

摘要

Atypical aging is an off-flavor that can occur in white wines within a period of a few weeks to one year after the first addition of sulfur dioxide postfermentation. Its sensory characterization is varied and controversial, including a premature loss of varietal aroma combined with an increase in off-flavors that comprise various attributes such as mothballs, furniture varnish, acacia blossom, wet wool, and dirty dish rag. Most research agrees on 2-aminoacetophenone and other less well-identified compounds generated by degradation of indole-3-acetic acid as the causal agents. This chemical pathway is controlled by the oxygen radical scavenging capacity of the wine, which, in turn, is highly influenced by viticultural stress factors as the ultimate cause. Although oxygen is involved, atypical aging is distinct from premature oxidative aging with its own set of sensory and chemical descriptors.