| The aroma of a wine in a glass is determined by the composition of the headspace in the glass above the wine and the concentration of the headspace components. Anecdotal evidence as well as peer-reviewed research has shown that glass shape can affect the sensory properties of a wine, yet little is known about the chemical composition of the glass headspace. The headspace compositions of two wines (Pinot noir and Gewürztraminer) in five glasses were monitored for peak area of 11-12 compounds, depending on the wine. The headspace composition was determined using solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) with a divinylbenzene - carboxen polydimethyl-siloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Headspace compositions were monitored at three different equilibration times of 0, 5, and 10 minutes.;Glass shape parameters cuppa height, glass capacity, and the ratio of maximum diameter to opening diameter (Dratio) were found to be important predictors of headspace concentration at five and ten minutes of equilibration. Glass shape parameters could not be used to accurately predict headspace volatile concentrations at zero minutes of equilibration.;Varying glass shape was found to modulate overall aroma intensity as well as fruity and hot (ethanol) intensities, consistent with previous research. While correlations between chemical constituents in the headspace and sensory properties of the wine in different glasses could not be well characterized, Glass WW, a white wine glass, with the highest headspace concentrations for many compounds showed the lowest total aroma intensity, suggesting that higher concentrations of sub threshold components could be interfering with the perception of very low concentration, odor-active volatiles. |
