Poets extol the burst of aroma the bottle is opened, the wine poured, the flavor on the palate as it combines with the olfactory expression detected and the resulting glow realized. But what is the chemistry behind it? What are the compounds involved and how do they work their wonder? What do we know? In The Chemistry of Wine, David R. Dalton relies on analytical chemistry to introduce the reader to the complex world of wine. Advances in the fields of analytical chemistry and biochemistry allow us to address similarities and difference in wines as well as to begin to understand how those differences arose. Beginning with the vine and how and where it's grown (terroir) and leading through the variety of grape produced and yeast used, the course to produce the bottled beverage is explored. Wine can be described as a complex flavored mixture of water and ethyl alcohol. Alternatively, wine is clearly a subtle beverage of joy and distinction because of the trace quantities of odorants and flavorants in aqueous ethanol. The difference is one of complexity and marketing.

Chemistry can inform us about the differences and similarities in the grapes with which we start, what is happening as the grape matures, the consequence of fermentation, the subsequent treatment of the wine that result, and even its eventual consumption. While there are generalities, it is clear that the subtle yet complex variations make all the difference. Book jacket.