Application of multi-way analysis to UV-visible spectroscopy, gas chromatography and electronic nose data for wine ageing evaluation

In this study, a multi-way method (Tucker3) was applied to evaluate the performance of an electronic nose for following the ageing of red wines. The odour evaluation carried out with the electronic nose was combined with the quantitative analysis of volatile composition performed by GC-MS, and colour characterisation by UV-visible spectroscopy. Thanks to Tucker3, it was possible to understand connections among data obtained from these three different systems and to estimate the effect of different sources of variability on wine evaluation. In particular, the application of Tucker3 supplied a global visualisation of data structure, which was very informative to understand relationships between sensors responses and chemical composition of wines. The results obtained indicate that the analytical methods employed are useful tools to follow the wine ageing process, to differentiate wine samples according to ageing type (either in barrel or in stainless steel tanks with the addition of small oak wood pieces) and to the origin (French or American) of the oak wood. Finally, it was possible to designate the volatile compounds which play a major role in such a characterisation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.