Red Wine

 
Two studies that examined the differences between mono-varietal red wines where Ferreira et al 2000 studied: Grenache, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot
Louw et al. 2010 studied: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, and Shiraz Louw et al. (2010) noted that the aroma compounds are consistently found in red wine and always present at concentrations higher than their odor thresholds were by-products of yeast or bacteria metabolism with the exception of b-damascenone:

Most powerful aroma compounds found above odor thresholds (Ferreira et al 2000) and (Louw et al. 2010):
  • Ethyl octanoate
  • B-damascenone
  • Ethyl hexanoate
  • Isoamyl acetate
  • Isovaleric acid

Slightly less important aroma compounds
  • Ethyl butyrate
  • Butyric acid
  • Isoamyl alcohol
  • b-phenylethyl alcohol
  • 2,3-butanedione (mainly results from bacterial degradation of citric acid)
  • Hexanoic and octanoic acids
Compounds at or only slightly above perception thresholds from Ferreira et al (2000):
  • Ethyl esters
  • Isobutyric
  • Isovaleric acids
  • Hexanol
  • Acetic acid
  • B-ionone
  • Methionol
  • Ethyl cinnamate
​
Occasional odorants
  • 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine

In some but not all Cabernet Sauvignon wine
  • Γ-nonalactone
  • Guaiacol
  • Eugenol
  • Ethyl dihydrocinnamate

Compounds with concentrations not found above, or similar to, their odor thresholds:
  • Linalool and a-terpineol
  • a-ionone
  • phenylethyl acetate (higher concentrations in most white wines)
  • 4-vinylguaiacol. (higher concentrations in most white wines).

White Wine

White wine aroma is primarily influenced by its esters, however we have yet to find a good summary study that explains the particular aroma compounds in white wine. Swigers et al (2005) does note that Chardonnay and Riesling wines contain similar esters of: Ethyl-2-methylpropanoate, ethyl-2-butanoate, 3-methyl butanoate, ethylhexanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate, and theacetate esters hexyl acetate, 2-methylbutyl acetate and 3-methylbutyl acetate. Louw et al (2010) compared Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay and found the major difference were:
  • Sauvignon blanc contained higher levels of acetic acid, decanoic acid, ethyl decanoate, octanoic acid, ethyl octanoate, isoamyl alcohol, isoamyl acetate, hexanoic acid, hexanol, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenyl ethyl acetate and isobutanol, than Chardonnay.
  • Chardonnay contained significantly higher levels of methanol and butanol, butyric acid, ethyl butyrate, propanol which are biosynthesized from 2-amino butyric acid. Diethyl succinate and ethyl lactate were also in higher concentrations and are associated with malolactic fermentation. However only ethyl butyrate and butyric acid were present at odour active concentrations in the white wines.

For more insight
Red Wine
Lallemand. Sensory Development Of Hot-Climate Red Varietals During Fermentation Part 2 Rosé Wine Fermentation Management And The Current Market Situation (2011) https://www.lallemandwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Cahier-Dubrovnik-2011Complet-spb.pdf
Ferreira, V., López, R., & Cacho, J. F. (2000). Quantitative determination of the odorants of young red wines from different grape varieties. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 80(11), 1659-1667. https://www.academia
.edu/8211729/Quantitative_determination_of_the_
odorants_of_young_red_wines_from_different_grape_varieties
Louw, L., Tredoux, A. G. J., Van Rensburg, P., Kidd, M., Naes, T., & Nieuwoudt, H. (2010). Fermentation-derived aroma compounds in varietal young wines from South Africa. https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajev/article/download/
1418/1500

White Wine
Lallemand. (2009) Sensory Development Of Cool-Climate Varietals (Chardonnay and Riesling) During Wine Fermentation https://www.lallemandwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CahierGeisenheimComplet.pdf
Smyth, H., Cozzolino, D., Herderich, M. J., Sefton, M. A., & Francis, I. L. (2005). Relating volatile composition to wine aroma: identification of key aroma compounds in Australian white wines. In Proceedings of the 12th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (Blair RJ, Williams PJ & Pretorius IS, eds) (pp. 31-33). https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/56274/8/02whole.pdf
Cataldo E, Salvi L, Paoli F, Fucile M, Mattii GB. Effect of Agronomic Techniques on Aroma Composition of White Grapevines: A Review. Agronomy. 2021; 11(10):2027. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11102027
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 2022