Wine Minerality and Funkiness: Blending the Two Tales of the Same Story

Abstract

In wines, minerality is a complex concept with increasing popularity in scientific research and the wine press. The flavour conceptual space of mineral wines comprises sulphur-reduced aromas, such as flint, wet stone or chalk associated with freshness and lingering mouth perceptions. Professionals do not consider the perception of sulphur-reduced flavours as an off-flavour. Indeed, this sort of reduction is a cue for the recognition of minerality under a likely top-down mental process. However, untrained consumers perceive these aromas as unpleasant. This different qualitative assessment hampers the communication between professionals and amateurs. This review aimed to describe the perceptions of minerality by experts and novices to promote their mutual understanding. Funkiness is proposed as a descriptor of mineral wines when tasted by unexperienced consumers. The chemical basis of minerality and winemaking options were explored to understand their implications on sensory perception. Mineral flavours have two main features. The first comprises ephemeral aromas that may be described as funky, given their association with sulphur-reduced molecules. The second is linked to the fresh and vivacious lingering mouthfeel perceptions that remain after the reductive aromas vanish. Consumers recognise this dual perception by demonstrating positive emotional responses of surprise during tasting. Then, the perception of minerality is a question of cognition and not of particularly developed sensory skills. Appropriate tasting approaches encompassing emotional responses and emergent properties (e.g., harmony, depth, persistence, complexity) appear essential to understand the nature of wine minerality and to determine when it may be regarded as a surrogate for fine wine quality.

Accurate measurement of sulfhydryls and TCEP-releasable sulfhydryls in the liquid phase of wine that contribute to ‘reductive’ aromas using LC-MS/MS

“…For example, 3-sulfhydrylhexan-1-ol (3SH) and phenylmethanethiol (PMT) play an important role in modulating wine aroma, both in terms of imparting positive ‘tropical’ and ‘gun flint’ aromas associated with certain wine varieties and wine styles. PMT in particular is an important compound when considering ‘reductive’ aromas, seeing that winemakers anecdotally refer to PMT as “positive reduction”, “struck flint” or “minerality” and this aroma character is highly sought after in certain styles of Chardonnay [ 13 , 14 ]. Considering that the presence of PMT, especially at high concentrations, may be mistaken for burnt rubber aroma or struck match [ 15 ], it is important to also consider this compound when quantifying VSCs in wine.…”

Minerality in Wine: Textual Analysis of Chablis Premier Cru Tasting Notes

“…"Minerality" is a wine descriptor that was reportedly frst mentioned in the French wine lexicon (as "minéralité") in 1988 [1] and which gained popularity among wine professionals and consumers from around 2000 [2]. It has been the centre of considerable debate by sensory researchers [3] and wine market participants who question what it is, what causes it, and whether it is a discrete wine characteristic. It is typically used as a sensory descriptor for still dry white wine from cool climate viticulture regions [4] and has been variously profled as gunfint, wet stones, and/or seashells (amongst many descriptors), possibly with three or more subdimensions [5][6][7], although it remains unclear whether it is perceived as an aroma, taste, mouthfeel, or combination of these [3,5,7].…”

“…It has been the centre of considerable debate by sensory researchers [3] and wine market participants who question what it is, what causes it, and whether it is a discrete wine characteristic. It is typically used as a sensory descriptor for still dry white wine from cool climate viticulture regions [4] and has been variously profled as gunfint, wet stones, and/or seashells (amongst many descriptors), possibly with three or more subdimensions [5][6][7], although it remains unclear whether it is perceived as an aroma, taste, mouthfeel, or combination of these [3,5,7]. Wines with perceived minerality may also be said to be "mineral" or "minerally.…”

“…Producers, merchants, and critics regularly refer to minerality as a defning high-quality characteristic of wine [3,5] and make connections between its presence and the "terroir" of the region or vineyard in which the wine is produced [8][9][10]. Te suggestion is that the inorganic components of an area's geology and soil can be sensed in its wine by virtue of a wine's "minerality," although this literal understanding of the term has since been disputed in the academic literature [2,3,11]. Even so, the term still continues to be used in this way by many winemakers, merchants, and consumers [12,13].…”

“…Minerality in wine is often associated with acidity [5,6,17], although whether this is because cool climate wines tend to be both distinctly acidic and mineral, or whether minerality and acidity are diferent ways of describing a similar sensation, or whether the acidity is a subdimension of minerality [17], is unclear. Of the several types of acidity present in wine, succinic acid is said to be intense, salty, and bitter [6] and could potentially be responsible for minerality [3,8]. Minor acids, such as octanoic acid, have also been associated with minerality [18].…”