Sensory Evaluation of Wines and Drinks

Course Code:  5.2 

Semester:  5^th 

Category: Compulsory  

Hours: 2h Th + 2h Labo

ECTS : 6

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: 

• Understand the role & value of Sensory Evaluation in the field of Food Science in general and in Oenology and Beverage Technology in particular
• Comprehend the applications of sensory and consumer science, in the field of wine, vine and beverage sciences
• Understand the way the human senses work, and their role in perception of wine and drink quality and preference
• Know the basic categories of methods in Sensory & Consumer Research, and their applications
• Know the principal aspects in wine sensory evaluation
• Organise and carry out a standard sensory descriptive analysis of wines
• Know the key wine aromas, tastes and mouth sensations, and be able to relate them to standard raw materials and production parameters
• Know the principal aspects in beer sensory evaluation
• Organise and carry out a standard sensory descriptive analysis of beers
• Know the key beer aromas, tastes and mouth sensations, and be able to relate them to standard raw materials and production parameters
• Comprehend the principal aspects in spirits sensory evaluation
• Conduct difference testing experiments in sensory evaluation
• Analyse data of basic sensory experiments, with the use of statistics

 

COURSE CONTENT

 

Theoretical Part:

• Introduction to the field of Sensory and Consumer Science: Main Applications and Principles of Good Practice
• The human senses and their role in sensory evaluation
• Difference testing in Sensory Evaluation of Foods and Drinks
• Descriptive Analyses Methods
• Time-Intensity methods: Applications, advantages and limitations
• Consumer methods: Applications in Wine, Vine and Beverage Sciences
• Sensory Evaluation of wines I: Appearance, Basic tastes, Mouthfeel and Aftertastes
• Sensory Evaluation of wines II: Wine Aromas and ways to categorize them
• Sensory Evaluation of beers
• Sensory Evaluation of spirits
• Sensory Quality Control in the food and beverage industry.
• The role of Experimental Design and statistics in processing sensory and consumer data: Basic techniques.

Laboratory Part:

• Getting to know the basic tastes and some mouthfeel sensations related to wine and drinks in practice.
• Getting acquainted to important wine related aromas with the use of specific standards
• Introduction to wine sensory analyses: Important aspects in practice
• Assessment of different types of wines, namely dry whites, dry reds, rose, sweet and/ or fortified and sparkling wines. Understanding different aspects to be evaluated in practice.
• Getting acquainted to the Greek vineyard: Assessment of the main white and red cultivars used in winemaking in Greece. Typical styles of wines.
• Getting acquainted to the sensory evaluation of beer: principal aspects and assessment of different beer types and styles.
• Getting to do at least one type of difference testing experiment with various drinks
• Getting to do at least one type of time intensity assessment with wines

 

Evaluation Method 

• Theoretical part of the course: Final written examination. 
• Laboratory part: Combination of assignments, attendance in the laboratory, and final written examination. 

 

RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY 

• Harry, T. Lawless and Hildegarde Heymann (2010). Sensory Evaluation of Food: Principles and Practices, 2nd Edition. Springer, New York.  
• John, R. Piggott (2016). Alcoholic Beverages: Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Research. Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition.
• Morten, C. Meilgaard, Gail, V. Civille and B. Thomas Carr (2016). Sensory Evaluation Techniques, 5th Edition. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group
• Ronald, S. Jackson (2017). Wine Tasting: A Professional Handbook. 3rd Edition. Elsevier Academic Press, California.