Review: Berry sensory assessment: concepts and practices for assessing winegrapes' sensory attributes

Abstract

Berry Sensory Assessment (BSA) is a technique that can help grapegrowers and winemakers to make decisions about harvest date and allocation of grapes. As a structured technique, BSA has been used by grapegrowers, winemakers and researchers for the last 11 years. The number of studies, however, reporting results of the effect of viticultural practices on berry sensory characteristics and wine quality is limited. The extent to which both Australian and New Zealand winemakers and grapegrowers use BSA and their opinions about the application and their expectations of this technique has not been evaluated. The aims of this review are: first, to review the different BSA techniques employed to date within the wine industry and oenological research, and to consider some practical applications of BSA; and second, to reveal and discuss a survey undertaken by Australian and New Zealand winemakers and grapegrowers about current use of BSA. Knowledge gaps in BSA resultant from the review and the survey are identified.