Developing a consumer language to describe local red wines using projective mapping
LE3 .A278 2017
2017
McSweeney, Matt
Acadia University
Bachelor of Science
Honours
Nutrition
Nutrition & Dietetics
In the last two decades, the Nova Scotia wine industry has rapidly grown. Recent market research suggests that most Nova Scotia wine consumers are not wine experts, but identify Nova Scotia as a producer of quality wines. Current descriptors of Nova Scotia wines are provided by the winemakers and a wide variety of terms are used to describe the flavours and aromas present in the wine. The objective of this project is to determine consumer descriptors of Nova Scotia wines to begin the preliminary development of a wine wheel specific to the region. In total, two trials were conducted using Nova Scotia red wines. The first trial assessed six red wine blends and the second trial assessed six single varietal wines. Global mapping paired with ultra flash profiling was used to determine flavour descriptors of the wines and partial mapping paired with ultra flash profiling was used to determine aroma descriptors. Blended wines were described as sweet and fruity or dry and peppery whereas single varietal wines were described based on their body, bitterness, and acidity. Both blended and single varietal wine aromas were described with floral, oak, and fruity aromas with single varietal wines smelling stronger and sharper than blended wines. Consumer acceptability testing of Nova Scotia red wines indicated that the overall liking of flavours and aromas were not significantly different than wines described from California, indicating the importance of locality to Nova Scotia wine consumers.
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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2092