Abstract:The aroma-active compounds in Anhui rice wine were isolated and identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-MS/GC-O) coupled with quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) in this paper, and the aroma characteristics of Anhui rice wine were also analyzed. Sixty-five volatiles, including eight acids, 12 alcohols, 16 esters, eight aldehydes/ketones, five furans, five phenols, three nitrogen-containing compounds, three sulfur-containing compounds, and five other compounds, were isolated and identified from Anhui rice wine. Using Guyue Longshan rice wine as a control, the types of volatiles isolated and identified in both Chinese rice wines showed high similarity (87%), but there were differences in the relative contents of most volatiles between Anhui rice wine and the control. Nineteen aroma-active compounds were identified in both Anhui rice wine and the control using GC-O, and contributed to the sour, alcohol, fruit, floral, pit, caramel-like, smoky, and herbal flavors. The results of QDA showed that Anhui rice wine was characterized by a harmonious aroma with prominent alcohol, wheat qu, and caramel-like flavors, while the control sample was characterized by a harmonious aroma with prominent alcohol, wheat qu, and fruit flavors. The aroma-active compounds in Anhui rice wine were identified using the above methods, and Anhui rice wine was found to possess unique aroma characteristics when compared with those of the control.
