From wine to hollandaise sauce: Does the nature of the wine or wine reduction influence sensory attributes?

Wine is often used as an ingredient in butter sauces such as hollandaise sauce, but normally in its reduced form. Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion, and roughly consists of a continuous phase (water based ingredients) and a dispersed phase (fat). In addition, hollandaise sauce contains varying amounts of incorporated air, seen as air bubbles in the sauce. In this study, the influence of wines and wine reductions on sauce flavor was studied. Butter sauces, where the aqueous phase of the sauces varied, were made and analyzed. Four different types of white wine (Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc and a blended wine) and these wines’ corresponding wine reductions were incorporated in butter sauce to produce model products (eight sauces in total). In the reductions, approximately 51% of the volume was removed by evaporation. The wines were selected based on both non-volatile composition and aroma differences. A trained sensory panel (n=10) evaluated sauce flavor and texture. Volatile profiles of sauces were studied by GC-MS, and sauce texture was evaluated by texture analysis, microscopy and dry matter measurements. Results showed that the degree of reduction is more important for sauce flavor than the wine type.