Word: jonquera
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...electronic "tongue" recently unveiled by scientists at Barcelona's Institute for Microelectronics is capable of identifying different wines and may be used as a new weapon in the battle against wine fraud. In a study published last week in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal the Analyst, Cecilia Jonquera-Jiménez and her colleagues announced that by using microsensors cued to chemical ions, their device, or "e-tongue," can distinguish among grapes and vintages...
...technology has been in the works for some time. Scientists at the Institute had already developed membranes that could distinguish mineral content in different waters. "It was Cecilia's idea to apply the technology to wine," says César Fernández, speaking for his colleague Jonquera-Jiménez. "When she spoke with people in the industry, they would tell her they needed a quick way to determine the components of a wine without having to send...
...Using first grape juice and then wine as their test samples, Jonquera-Jiménez and her team attached a series of synthetic membranes to a silicon chip called a microsensor. Each membrane detects a different chemical component of the liquid - components that, when combined, mark the distinct characteristics of each grape varietal. So far, the device can distinguish among four: chardonnay, Aisén, malvasia and macabeu. It can also measure the difference between a 2005 vintage and a 2007. "It should even be able to identify, say, a chardonnay regardless of whether it was grown in France...
...Jonquera-Jiménez plans to train the e-tongue to identify more varietals, and that, says, O'Connor, will only increase its value for wine educators like herself. "The human palate is unable to detect that a wine is, say, 20% merlot. A device [with a full range] would be an awesome tool for explaining the mystery of what goes into a wine." Still, she says, don't look for the e-tongue to completely replace the human palate. "This kind of device is purely technical. It's the human palate that determines whether a wine is worth drinking...
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