Study of Tokaji Aszu wine flavour by solid phase microextraction method

In this study the role of different yeast strains in the production of volatile flavour components of Tokaji Aszu wine was tested. The effect of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter and that of the typical endogenous Candida stellata strain as well as spontaneous fermentation were studied and compared. For the fast comparison of aroma profile, a solid phase microextraction (SPME) sampling and a GC-MS separation and identification were used. Thirty of the present compounds were selected to characterise the changes of flavour. Significant differences were found between wines fermented with different yeast strains. Application of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter alone accelerated the fermentation but this caused only little change in the aroma profile and content. Candida stellata contributed weakly to the production of aroma, especially to that of the longer carbon chain ethyl esters. Characteristic compounds of aged wine were detected in bottle aged Tokaji Aszu, The change of aroma profile as a function of bottle storage time was studied. The concentrations of vitispirane, trimethyl dihydronaphtalene, 2-phenylethanol and diethyl succinate increased in the course of ageing time, while those of 3-methyl-butyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate and ethyl dodecanoate decreased.