Wine Sensory Testing

Last weekend, Becky, Trudy and I were privledged to attend a wine Sensory Class where we were educated about wine faults, judging and curing defects.  It was a very interesting class and an essential tool to improve our overall wine quality.  The class was conducted in a sensory classroom and one of the lab tools was this computerized sensory rating panel.  All samples were given blind and assigned a random number.  Then, two reference glasses A and B were also assigned to each of the three categories  of defects.  The three compounds in the white wine group were acetic acid, ethyl acetate and TCA.  The three red compounds were ethyl acetate/acetic acid (VA), brettamiacin (Brett) and hydrogen sulfides (thriols and mercaptans).  We were then asked to rank the wines relative to one another and then relative to our two reference wines.   The lower standard was sub threshold and the higher concentration was above threshold. The computer then gives you a print out as well as periodic instant feedback to help you ground your sensory experience.  Amazing what technology can do in the classroom!