# The Application of Wood Species in Enology: Chemical Wood Composition and Effect on Wine Quality
## 4 Influence of Wood Species on the Wine Sensory Profile
[136] showed that the olfactory descriptor vanilla in red wines correlated strongly with the level of _cis_-\(\beta\)-methyl-\(\chi\)-octadecone. On the other hand, the wines aged in false acacia wood barrels showed higher spiced, toasted, and fruited notes [74], which could be, according to these authors, correlated to their high level in mono and dimethoxyphenols, acetosyringone, and ethyl vanillate [125]. [PERSON] et al. [74] also observed that wines aged in chestnut wood barrels presented middle scores of all olfactory descriptors, and the wines aged in cherry wood barrels presented the lowest scores for the olfactory descriptors toasty, almond, caramel, vanilla and smoky. The wines aged in oak wood were the higher scored wines regarding global wine valuation and the wines aged in the cherry wood barrels were the worst scored. Moreover, other researchers have previously shown that the cherry wood barrels are only suggested in red wines for short aging times [76; 77; 106]. More recently, [PERSON] et al. [34] studied the sensory characteristics of a red wine aged in contact with chips from cherry, false acacia, and oak woods. It was shown that the wine aged in contact with French oak chips presented significantly higher scores for the aroma descriptors (vanilla, boise, and coconut), while the red wine aged with Portuguese oak wood chips presented significantly higher scores for other aroma descriptors such as sawdust. However, these last wines showed lesser scores for fruity and floral aroma descriptors. The red wines aged in false acacia and cherry wood chips showed lower scores for all aroma descriptors. These differences observed in the wines aged in contact with the different oak wood chips are related to greater extraction of \(\beta\)-methyl-\(\gamma\)-octadecone (mainly _cis_-\(\beta\)-methyl-\(\gamma\)-octadecone), furfural, vanillin, and 5-methylfurfural from oak chips [32; 40]. [PERSON] et al. [137] observed that wine aged with wood chips would give a similar sensory characteristic of wines aged in a new oak wood barrel for a short aging period (about three months); however, if the aging in a new oak wood barrels will be for a long period of time, differences in the sensory characteristics were detected. Nevertheless, the application of oak wood chips could be a good option for the production of young red wines with few gustative and olfactory wood notes  
For white wines, [PERSON] et al. [119] associated the volatile compounds removed from oak wood with diverse toasting degrees with the sensory characteristics of varietal wines from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. For these researchers, guaiacol, eugenol, vanillin, 4-methylguaiacol, furfuryl alcohol, and furfural were positively correlated to aroma quality perceived by specialists of Sauvignon Blanc wines. For Chardonnay wines, the highest aroma scores were positively correlated with the 4-vinylguaiacol and isoeugenol and negatively correlated with the existence of lactones and 4-vinylphenol in wines. [PERSON] et al. [122] established the role of some oak wood-extractable compounds in Chardonnay wines aged in new oak barrels, for example, the correlation between the volatile compounds of the wood manufactured during the toasting process and the \"smoky\" aroma. [PERSON] et al. [117] reported a positive effect of the use of new Croatian oak barrels during the alcoholic fermentation on the sensory characteristics of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc wines, in comparison with those fermented in stainless steel vats. Therefore, [PERSON] [138], also using white wines, considered the influence of wood (in the form of oak chips or in oak barrels) on the sensory proprieties during the fermentation. The outcomes indicated that American oak chips induce a higher intensity of coconut and vanilla notes and an increase in the degree of astringency and bitterness sensations than barrels. Other research works studied the application of non oak wood species on the sensory profile of white wines. Thus, [PERSON] et al.