Thesis (M.Ag.Sci.) -- Dept. of Biometry, University of Adelaide, 1982. / Typescript (photocopy).

The quality of wine is highly influenced by the weather. Temperature, solar radiation and humidity influence the formation and concentration of aroma-active compounds and aroma-active precursors in the grapes. Pinot noir grapes require a slow ripening, under cool temperatures, in order to achieve their fullest flavor. The main objective of this study was to provide an overall aroma picture that could help, along with the chemical indices, to decide the optimum harvesting time to obtain certain distinctive aroma attributes in the wine. This particular work represents the first stage in a broad plan aimed to understand the dependence of the wine flavor chemistry on the ripening of the grapes. This maturity trial was planned to last several years; it was expected that the outcome and techniques developed in the present study would be essential in delineating the steps to follow. The results of the aroma analyses for the 1987 and 1988 vintages are reported here. In each vintage, Pinot noir grapes were harvested at three different times, covering a range from early to late maturity. A sniffing technique based on gas chromatographic aroma detection by a trained panel was implemented. This technique has proved to be a useful tool to measure qualities and intensities of aromas. The method was effective in detecting many of the aroma-active compounds and in identifying aroma differences between the wines studied. The aroma profiles for the wines were found to be very different from each other within and across vintages. There were only 10 aroma peaks common to all three 1987 wines, 16 aroma peaks common to the 1988 wines, and 4 aroma peaks common to both vintages. Late maturity wines had more aroma-active peaks than the other 2 wines for both vintages. The 1988 wines had a higher number of aroma-active peaks than the 1987 wines. The percentages of aroma-active peaks not detected by the Flame lonization Detector (FID) were 45% in the 1987 wines, and 66% in the 1988 wines. The overall climatic conditions in those years were very different. The 1987 season was characterized as hot and dry, producing an early harvest. The weather in 1988 was more of a typical season for Oregon, producing a normal to late harvest. Further study is needed to fully understand the flavor chemistry occurring during grape ripening. / Graduation date: 1991

No description available.

There are two distinct areas of research on which the work in this thesis impinges. They are methods for the analysis of patterns in correlation matrices and the analysis of taster performance in wine-tasting experiments in which the wines are scored. For the analysis patterns in correlation matrices, least squares procedures are developed to examine patterns under certain equal correlation hypotheses. The procedures are applied to the z-transforms of the elements of correlation matrices that can be based on either a single group of variables, or variables that can be cross-indexed by two factors such as the multitrait-multimethod matrices given by Campbell and Fiske (1959). The procedures are of the analysis of variance type, being investigative in the sense that, in the event that the correlation matrix is judged to depart from the hypothesised pattern, alternative models to be pursued further are indicated. The associated statistics are calculated directly from closed-form expressions, rather that requiring the iterative solution of some estimation function as is the case with some alternative methods. The procedures are used to analyse the data from a number of wine-tasting and other experiments. The results obtained are shown to be similar, in many instances, to those obtained with maximum likelihood procedures applied to variance-covariance matrices; in other instances, large differences occur between the methods. The test for the hypothesis of equal correlation between all variables developed here is also shown to give similar answers to Lawley’s (1963) test for the hypothesis, in a number of cases. For the analysis of taster performance in wine-tasting experiments in which the wines are scored, the method of examining patterns in correlation matrices can be applied to multitaster and multitaster-multisession correlation matrices. Certain conditions to be fulfilled by multitaster-multisession matrices are specified; the extent to which they are met in a particular experiment can be ascertained from the results of these analyses. The data from several wine-tasting experiments are analysed and the results provide further substantive evidence of the lack of agreement and differences in reliability that can occur between tasters in such experiments. As the technique is applied to data from a single experiment, it can be used, particularly when session replicates are included, to select tasters on the basis of their performance in the experiment under consideration – a highly desirable approach. Four duplicate-evaluation wine-tasting experiments, that were aimed at determining the effect of several treatments on wine quality, fit into this category and so are analysed in more detail. A group of less heterogeneous tasters is selected, where possible, for each of the experiments using the results of the analysis of the multitaster-multisession correlation matrices. Compared with other techniques for selecting tasters on the basis of their results in a wine-tasting experiment, the analysis of multitaster-multisession correlation matrices has the advantages that both reliability and agreement are measured and that the measures are correlation coefficients. However, even the subsets of selected tasters do not behave in a manner that would justify a single analysis for mean differences for each subset. Because this is likely to be a common phenomenon, it is recommended that wine-tasting experiments be designed to include session replicates and the scores of each taster be analysed for mean differences separately. The results of the analysis of the multitaster-multisession matrix can then be used to determine the confidence to be attached to the results of individual tasters in drawing inferences from the experiment. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=721471 / Thesis (M.Ag.Sci.) - University of Adelaide, Dept. of Biometry, 1980

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 331-340).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1995. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Bibliography: p. 331-340. / x, 340 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Using sensory ranking, studies aroma variability of a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon matured in new oak barrels. Oak wood-derived volatile compounds are analysed using gas chromatography, to suggest which natural and cultural variables are involved in each aroma variation. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology, 1998

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 24, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Psychology, Faculty of Science. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Tea is a beverage that has long been taken to symbolize a key aspect of Chinese tradition and history. However, it is one of many beverages drunk in contemporary China, where in recent times knowledge of wine has come to stand for the West and as a much-desired cultural capital. This dissertation examines everyday tea drinking and tea tasting in Dalian—a northeastern city in Liaoning Province, China. Through ethnography of practices, processes, and interactions taking place in daily events of tea drinking and tasting, this dissertation provides a window into social conflicts, ideas and desires, historical consciousness, and national identity, individualism, and collectivism, in a contemporary Chinese city. It explores questions of why and how people learn to taste tea by acquiring certain levels of knowledge and skill that is valued in tea culture, and how people drink and taste tea in different social scenarios and contexts. Then it explores the significance of tea drinking and tasting to people in their daily life and as part of ritualized social relations, and specifically in contrast to beverages such as wine. As representative of Chinese culture, tea tasting raises questions of how sensory capabilities should be honed and deployed, and the relationship between so-called “objective” scientific knowledge of taste and the tacit, embodied skill that is associated with traditional cultural understandings.

Recent exponential increases in attendance at wine tasting rooms resulted in growing research in this subject area as producers seek to learn more about wine tasting room customers and identify ways to capitalize on additional revenue-generating opportunities. Direct wine sales are big business with $3.4 billion in sales in the United States in 2010. Research has shown that small and medium-sized wineries have become financially dependent on direct sales linked to wine tasting rooms with an average of 70 percent of winery sales coming from the tasting room. With limited sources outlining best practices within wine marketing, there is a clear need to identify and classify the literature on this topic. This research applies a marketing theoretical approach using the 4Ps (product, place, price, and promotion) of the marketing mix in conjunction with a comprehensive citation-based global literature review, with the goal of assessing those factors, if any, which may impact wine tasting room profitability. Our findings highlight key differences in individual wine tasting room marketing mix strategies which emphasize the need to understand consumer tastes and preferences for the wine tasting experience. Research shows that investing in the product and promotion of the wine tasting room has a positive impact on profitability. Key profit drivers include investing in branding, tasting room staff, and aggressively pursuing word-of-mouth recommendations to enhance wine tasting room profitability. / Master of Science