Identifying sensory attributes of Korean rice wine (makgeolli) using sensory evaluation and chemical analysis

Abstract

Makgeolli is a traditional alcoholic beverage in Korea; however, research on makgeolli is limited in foreign markets such as New Zealand. This study seeks to identify sensory descriptors that best describe makgeolli among New Zealand consumers. Four methods of making makgeolli have been identified based on different processing times and the number of fermentation stages. Chemical analysis and sensory evaluation were carried out to establish the different sensory and flavor properties of the four different makgeolli samples. Chemical analysis using SPME–GC–MS was employed to understand the volatile compounds present in the four makgeolli samples, while two sensory tests were carried out simultaneously using Check‐All‐That‐Apply (CATA) and Just‐About‐Right (JAR). A total of 45 volatile compounds were identified using SPME–GC–MS, and examples of major volatiles include 2‐methyl‐1‐propanol (alcoholic flavor), limonene (citrus‐like flavor), and hexanal (green/grass‐like flavor). One hundred and twenty‐nine subjects (n = 68 females) completed the sensory evaluation and were analyzed for this study. Female subjects tend to rate overall acceptance of makgeolli higher than male subjects; both subjects preferred 1SF‐YN with the highest mean hedonic score, and the least preferred makgeolli was 1SF‐N. From CATA, attributes such as apple, apricot, peach, sweet taste, and bubbly texture were statistically significant when describing makgeolli. For JAR, a high proportion of subjects indicated that sourness was too much in three of the four makgeolli samples.Practical ApplicationResearch on rice wine in Western markets such as New Zealand is limited, and this study gives insight into how New Zealand consumers perceive Korean rice wine (makgeolli). Sensory participants in this study indicated that makgeolli is too sour and lacks sufficient sweetness in the majority of the samples examined. When launching makgeolli to the New Zealand market, practitioners need to optimize sweetness and reduce sourness to increase overall liking. Sensory terms used by subjects describing makgeolli include cider, apple, and sour.

Product categorization of Korean rice wine (makgeolli) compared to beer and wine using sensory evaluation methods

“…As expected, sour and all makgeolli samples can be seen positioned on the top left quadrant alongside other sensory attributes such as creamy , astringent , strong , and unpleasant . The CA map from the PM with UFP somewhat mirrors the findings published in Wong, Owens, et al (2023) study as participants in their study also used the terms astringent and creamy to describe makgeolli samples. Wine samples such as Chardonnay, Rosé, and Sauvignon Blanc clustered around the term fruity , which supports the Cochran's Q test and pairwise McNamar's test that participants used more fruity terms to describe wine than beer and makgeolli .…”

“…From other researchers regarding product categorization, it was important to measure the participant's experience in the form of subjective and objective knowledge (Chocarro et al, 2009) and Kwak et al (2015) stated that American consumers perceived KRW to be in a similar category with white and semi‐sweet white wine. The purpose of objective and subjective wine knowledge questions was used as an exploratory tool to see whether different group clustering exists among the participants (Wong, Owens, et al, 2023) and whether this would affect the categorization makgeolli in PM with UFP and PSP experiments. In terms of the wine knowledge assessments used in both PM with UFP and PSP experiments, objective wine knowledge questions were taken verbatim from Forbes et al (2008) and Ellis and Caruana (2018).…”

“…Subjective wine knowledge selected for both experiments differed slightly from each other; PM with UFP experiment used the modified version of the subjective wine knowledge questions by Wong, Owens, et al (2023) which was derived from Flynn and Goldsmith (1999), Forbes et al (2008) and Ellis and Caruana (2018), while the PSP experiment where taken verbatim from Ellis and Caruana (2018) and was derived from (Flynn & Goldsmith, 1999). Participants were required to select the answer that best describes their situation on a 7‐point category scale from “ disagree strongly ” to “ agree strongly .” The four subjective wine knowledge questions used for PM with UFP experiment include: “Among my circle of friends, I'm one of the experts on wine” (Q1), “Compared to most other people, I know less about wine” (Q2), “I am quite familiar with wine” (Q3), and “I feel very knowledge about” (Q4) (Ellis & Caruana, 2018; Flynn & Goldsmith, 1999; Forbes et al, 2008; Wong, Owens, et al, 2023). For PSP experiment, the subjective wine knowledge consists of nine questions including: “I know pretty much about wine” (Q1), “I know how to judge the quality of the bottle of wine” (Q2), “I think I think enough about wine to feel pretty confident when I make a purchase” (Q3), “I do not feel very knowledge about wines” (Q4), “Among my circle of friends, I'm one of the ‘experts’ on wines” (Q5), “I have heard of most of the new wines that are around” (Q6), “Compared to most other people, I know less about wines” (Q7), “When it comes to wine, I really don't know a lot”(Q8), and “I can tell whether a bottle of wine is worth the price” (Q9) (Ellis & Caruana, 2018).…”

“…Currently, makgeolli (Korean rice wine [KRW]) is a novel product within the Western market due to its low availability and awareness in the alcoholic beverage market. A few studies have looked into the sensory and consumer acceptance of KRW including Kwak et al (2015), Wong, Muchangi, et al (2023), and Wong, Owens, et al (2023) with Western consumers and participants. KRW acceptance was positively correlated with fruity characteristics and was negatively affected by a yeasty and bitter taste among American consumers.…”

“…KRW acceptance was positively correlated with fruity characteristics and was negatively affected by a yeasty and bitter taste among American consumers. Other research conducted on KRW using sensory methods in the English scientific literature, include Check‐All‐That‐Apply, Just‐About‐Right (Lee et al, 2021; Wong, Owens, et al, 2023), consumer testing (Jung et al, 2014), and projective polarized mapping (Wong, Muchangi, et al, 2023).…”