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 An
enology research team from the Viticulture and Enology Research Center (VERC)
at California State University, Fresno is looking for 16 wine-tasting
volunteers, including supertasters: people with a rare genetic trait
that enables them to “supertaste” certain foods and flavors.
They will serve on a panel that is part of an Agricultural Research
Initiative-funded study designed to determine how a person’s taste
sensory perceptions affect wine enjoyment. Results will provide the wine
industry with information helpful for marketing different types of
wines, said VERC enology scientist and project leader Dr. Susan
Rodriguez.
“We have to know what consumers want,” said Rodriguez, a research fellow
for VERC’s Sensory Evaluation Lab adjacent to the Fresno State Winery.
Assisting her is Caryn Chachulski, a viticulture and enology graduate
student.
“There are different taste sensitivities within the market and we will
have a lot better marketing strategy if we know and can fulfill what the
consumer desires,” Rodriguez added.
As winemakers strive to satisfy a larger portion of the marketplace, she
said, the California wine industry can use this research to understand
its potential consumers and target production appropriately.
The researchers seek volunteers who are at least 21, are familiar with
red and white wines and are available to attend weekly one-hour tasting
sessions over a period of two to three months. Two eight-person panels –
one of supertasters and one comprised of nontasters – will be selected
and trained. The Fresno State panel volunteers would first undergo a
15-minute screening test to determine which category volunteers would be
assigned.
The objective is to determine whether supertasters perform differently
in wine descriptive analysis than nontasters.
Rodriguez said the premise of the study is based on research showing
that people can be divided into three genetic taste groups -- nontasters,
tasters and supertasters – based on their sensitivity to certain
chemical compounds.
“The world of taste is more complex than once believed,” Rodriguez said,
citing research that showed two-thirds of people could taste the
compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) as extremely bitter, and the other
third could not taste it at all. Subsequent research revealed that
approximately two-thirds of the American public can taste PTC, while one
third cannot.
Later, researchers replaced PTC with 6-n propylthiouracil (PROP)
replaced PTC for bitterness tests and determine that approximately 25
percent of the Caucasian population cannot detect a taste in a solution
of PROP. They were categorized as nontasters, while the 50 percent who
perceived PROP as quite bitter were identified as medium-tasters. The
other 25 percent perceive PROP as extremely bitter and were dubbed
supertasters.
The Fresno State researchers believe the supertasters should also be
more sensitive to high alcohol wines because of the sense of “pain” that
high alcohol or hot pepper elicits due to a nerve associated with the
taste buds.
Establishing biological and genetic population segmentation provides
scientists with a better understanding of the predispositions consumers
may have to bitterness, sweetness, astringency and perhaps aroma
compounds, Rodriguez said.
“People who can taste PROP may perceive the taste, smell and texture of
wine differently from those individuals who cannot taste this compound,”
she explained. “By understanding how these taste sensitivities affect
wine consumers, winemakers and the entire wine industry may be better
able to produce wines for specific target populations.”
Rodriguez believes California wineries, small or large, can use this
information to help fine-tune their production because consumers drive
much of the food industry.
“The results of this research could promote the increased wine
consumption that is wanted and needed,” she said. “It will also enable
the industry to make distinctive wines that can compete successfully on
the international level.”
Rodriguez’s first step is to establish the tasting panels. Graduate
student Chachulski is overseeing the panel.
The Agricultural Research Initiative is a California State University
applied agricultural and environmental sciences research consortium
comprising Fresno State and the system’s other campuses with agriculture
colleges: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and
Pomona, and California State University. Institute projects and programs
are designed to pursue research with likely to improve the economic
efficiency, productivity, profitability and sustainability of California
agriculture and its allied industries.
For more information about participating, volunteers may e-mail
Chachulski at
winelab@csufresno.edu.
Related links:
Agricultural Research Initiative
Viticulture and Enology Research Center
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