Electronic Noses and Tongues in Wine Industry

Abstract

The quality of wines is usually evaluated by a sensory panel formed of trained experts or traditional chemical analysis. Over the last few decades, electronic noses (e-noses) and electronic tongues have been developed to determine the quality of foods and beverages. They consist of arrays of sensors with cross-sensitivity, combined with pattern recognition software, which provide a fingerprint of the samples that can be used to discriminate or classify the samples. This holistic approach is inspired by the method used in mammals to recognize food through their senses. They have been widely applied to the analysis of wines, including quality control, aging control, or the detection of fraudulence, among others. In this paper, the current status of research and development in the field of e-noses and tongues applied to the analysis of wines is reviewed. Their potential applications in the wine industry are described. The review ends with a final comment about expected future developments.

Quantitative Analysis of Wine Mixtures Using an Electronic Olfactory System

“…Although there is much literature on the use of electronic noses for very different wine applications [1,2], at current, there are no references for the specific application developed in this work and a few ones where other technologies are used [3]. Therefore, it is very important to develop this application because the blending of wine varieties modifies the sensory and chemical properties of final wine, by increasing the complexity of the wine or by enhancing its aroma, flavor, and texture.…”

Bioinspired Electronics for Artificial Sensory Systems

“…Together, the olfactory and gustatory receptor systems function as important detectors of odor and food, by conveying distant and direct chemical information to the brain. The remarkable abilities of the two systems to differentiate diverse chemical molecules have intrigued researchers, who study the systems for their utilization as electronic chemical sensors, providing potential applications in environmental monitoring, food quality/safety assessment, and medical diagnosis . The bioelectronic noses and tongues generally consist of primary perception elements and secondary transducers and amplifiers, inspired by biological chemoreceptors and nerve systems .…”

From Gas Sensors to Biomimetic Artificial Noses

“…As a result, reliable instruments for general use are not yet available neither for industrial applications nor for research uses. Nevertheless, when we look at specific problems and focused approaches, a large variety of solutions are being proposed, tailored to selected applications in the fields of food quality, environmental monitoring and clinical diagnostics [8][9][10][11][12][13].…”