Measuring colour appearance of red wines

This study was designed to assess the colour appearance of different wines. Four wine samples were chosen: table red, oloroso, tawny port and rosé. These wines were poured at different depths in Petri dishes and in cocktail glasses. All samples were assessed by a panel of eight observers in terms of lightness, colourfulness and hue. All samples were also measured using a tele-spectroradiometer and a digital camera. It was found that physical measurements agreed with visual estimates of lightness, colourfulness and hue. There is some discrepancy between observer hue and physical measurement hue for shallow oloroso. This greenish hue was demonstrated in this work as a physical effect. Tele-spectroradiometer and digital camera results can detect this effect and agreed well. The results showed that the digital non-contact measurement method can obtain fast and accurate results for describing colour appearance of liquid food products like wines studied here.