The White Wine Mouthfeel Wheel: A Lexicon for Describing the Oral Sensations Elicited by White Wine

White wines can elicit a wide range of taste and mouthfeel sensations, some of which may be qualitatively different to those elicited by red wine. Through extensive sensory panel work involving 136 wines and 21 sessions, a lexicon, set of definitions, evaluation protocol and reference standards have been developed to describe and measure the oral sensations elicited by white wine, including table, sparkling, dessert and fortified styles. The lexicon has been visualised as a hierarchical wheel structure. These tools can be used to more fully define the influence of viticultural and oenological variables on white wine quality and to aid in the training of and communication between wine professionals.