Characterization of odor-active compounds in Croatian Rhine Riesling wine, subregion Zagorje

The aroma of Rhine Riesling must and wine was studied to determine the most intense odor-active compounds. The study was carried out using a special designed method of gas chromatography-olfactometry (GCO) to detect characteristic odorants, which were identified by GC-MS. Generally, the obtained results showed higher odor intensities for the wine than for the must samples. The aroma substances 2-phenylethanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-(methylthio)-1- propanol, ethyl propanoate, ethyl butanoate, ethyl 3-methylbutanoate, 3-methyl-1-butanol acetate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl 3-hydroxybutanoate, 2-phenylethyl acetate, hexanoic acid, 3-methylbutanoic acid, butanoic acid, β-damascenone, γ-undecalactone and 4-vinylguaiacol were detected as the most active odorants in the Rhine Riesling wine. The aroma of Rhine Riesling must was characterized by 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, (E)-2-penten-1-ol, 1-terpinen-4-ol, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, α-terpineol, d-limonene, β-damascenone, 3-methylbutanoic acid and benzeneacetaldehyde.