Abstract: The aroma compounds of three commercial pear wines were determined using solid phase microextraction (SPME) in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 43 aroma compounds were identified, including 16 alcohols, 15 esters, 4 aldehydes, 2 ketones, 1 phenol, 3 acids and 2 other compounds. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) were used to determine the characteristics of aroma compounds based on their odor activity values (OAV) and to deduce their contribution to the aroma of the wines. The characteristic aroma compounds identified mainly included isobutanol, 1-octano, 1-alcohol, phenylethyl alcohol, ethyl butyrate, ethyl 3-methyl butyrate, isoamyl acetate, ethyl caproate, ethyl caprylate, β-damascus ketone, and eugenol, and their possible correlation with six sensory attributes (fermented, acidic, fruity, floral, sweet, and delicate aromas) was fitted to a PLSR model. It turned out that the OAV of benzyl alcohol, n-butanol, and ethyl succinate were less than 1, which contributed to the aroma of pear wines. There was a good correlation between OAV of wine aroma compounds and fermented and sweet aromas while no striking correlations were observed with delicate, fruity and floral aromas.

Key words: pear wine, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), odor activity value (OAV), partial least squares regression (PLSR), characteristic aroma compounds