Monday, 22 September 2014

Can Nanoscience Improve the Quality of Wine?

Developments in nanoscience have apparently shown researchers a way to improve the quality of wine, Ideal Wine Company learned this week. Is that really possible?

How to Arrive at the Right Balance of Flavours
Through supplying fine wines at reasonable prices, Ideal Wine Company has learned how much work goes into creating a luxury vintage. Growers often need to control the number of processes involved in developing wine extensively, to arrive at the right balance of flavours.

This is often a tricky thing to do, especially, when trying to develop the appropriate astringency, which is the drying sensation that is supposed to accompany a sip of wine. Well, measuring astringency just became a whole lot easier thanks to the development of a device by nanoscience specialists.

New Device Capable of Measuring Astringency
According to, researchers at Aarhus University’s Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO) have created a sensor capable of measuring the astringency of wine in your mouth as you take a sip.

Basically, the sensor in a way is a mini-mouth that is able to take the salivary proteins in your mouth, and use them to figure the nature of the sensation that occurs when you take in a sip of wine. The researchers are then able to figure out how the proteins alter the saliva when they interact with the wine, and can thus use these observations to describe the effect that particular wine is having on the person drinking it.

“If it Doesn’t Work, People Won’t Drink Wine.”
The potential of such a sensor is enormous. It basically gives wine producers the capability to control astringency as they go, something they’ve never been able to do before, to ensure they are able to create a quality bottle of wine.

Joana Guerreiro, a PhD student who contributed to a scientific article on the sensor, explained why this is important. She said that “when you produce wine, you know that the finished product should have a distinct taste with a certain level of astringency. If it doesn't work, people won't drink the wine."

Quality Control Benefits Consumers
And that is why this nanoscience sensor really does have the potential to improve wine. Astringency is vital to quality, and by being able to measure it, producers can make sure that said quality remains consistent, which will in turn benefit consumers.