Characterisation of ‘Ruby Roman’ Table Grapes (Vitis Labruscana Bailey) by Sensory Evaluation and Analysis of Aroma and Taste Compounds

Abstract

‘Ruby Roman’ is a high-end table grape cultivar which has very large and bright red berries rich in light sweet juice. We characterised ‘Ruby Roman’ grapes by sensory evaluation and analysis of volatile aroma and taste compounds. A sensory evaluation by expert panellists using qualitative data comparisons of five grape cultivars revealed that ‘Ruby Roman’ exhibited a fruity character in common with ‘Pione’. Component profiling of aroma and taste compounds revealed that ‘Ruby Roman’ and ‘Pione’ contained 15 esters, which were absent from the other grape cultivars, indicating that these esters were the causes of the fruity character of ‘Ruby Roman’ and ‘Pione’. Analysis by gas chromatography-olfactometry and a comparison between quantitative values and odour thresholds were performed, and these results led to the observation that ethyl 2-methylbutanoate and ethyl butanoate were the characteristic esters in ‘Ruby Roman’ associated with the fruity aroma characteristic of this grape cultivar.