Abstract:
Wine flavours are released when the beverage is poured into a glass, but how individuals perceive these flavours can differ due to various factors. These factors include differences in taste buds, olfactory sensitivity, allergies, smoking habits, and sensory memory. Additionally, oral bacteria play a key role in personalizing aroma perception, as the composition of an individual’s microbiota varies significantly. Human microbiota’s alpha factor, influenced by genetic and environmental factors, can affect how wine molecules are processed. For a wine’s aroma to be perceived, its molecules must transition from liquid to gas, either in the glass or mouth. These molecules often bind to sugar molecules, and enzymes in saliva, such as salivary amylase, break these bonds when the wine mixes with saliva. This chemical reaction allows the wine’s gaseous molecules to travel through the Retropharyngeal Path and be sensed as a smell. Moreover, the pH shift when wine’s acidic nature interacts with the more neutral pH of saliva can alter the chemical structure of molecules, changing their aromatic properties. Saliva composition can vary widely between individuals, influencing aroma release. For example, obese individuals tend to release fewer aroma molecules when tasting wine, with esters and acetates being reduced by 40-60%. Oral bacteria also impact the release of aroma molecules by synthesizing salivary enzymes, which vary depending on the bacteria present. Studies have shown that different individuals’ oral bacteria can cause varying reactions to odorless glycosides from grapes, affecting the release of aromatic molecules like linalool. These findings suggest that both microbiota profile and body mass may play significant roles in aroma perception.
