Sensory Services

“Making sensory work for you!” Introducing Denise Gardner

Vinquiry customers have always had a profound interest in our quality sensory panels:

bullet Standard Sensory Evaluation
bullet Davis 20 Point Quality Evaluation
bullet Wine Improvement Panel (Panel 6)
bullet Brett Management Panel (Panel 7)

bullet Cork Aroma Evaluation

To meet our current customer needs and desires, Vinquiry is introducing some exciting new initiatives in our sensory program.   One of the most important aspects of this is a new addition to our sensory staff!Denise Gardner has recently joined the team as our new Sensory Scientist.  She hails from Penn State University (BS, Food Science) and Virginia Tech (MS, Food Science and Technology), where she worked as part of Bruce Zoecklein’s Enology-Grape Chemistry Group.  Denise’s Masters Thesis focused on the concept of using the electronic nose to monitor volatile changes during and after cold soak of Cabernet Sauvignon.  She recently presented this work at the 2009 ASEV Conference in Napa, which was well received. 

Denise has been funded by the Institute of Food Technologists, the American Wine Society, and the ASEV among others, to work on various wine and vineyard related projects, including a phylloxera study in Oakville.  She is focused on bringing a high level of wine-related expertise to our clients, and is looking forward to making sensory work for you!

In addition to several new sensory services, one of the newest classes that Denise brings to Vinquiry is her Sensory Success Seminar series.  Sensory Success Seminars are designed to benefit:

bullet Tasting Room Employees
bullet Restaurant Servers
bullet Future Wine Judges
bullet Vinquiry Panelists
bullet Students
bullet Home and New Winemakers
bullet Harvest Helpers

bullet Wine Enthusiasts


Our Sensory Success Seminar will focus on development and training for descriptive sensory techniques.  Participants will be:

bullet Educated on sensory descriptive analysis
bullet Introduced to Vinquiry’s new standard aroma and palate sensation descriptors for red and white wines
bullet Trained on concentration variations of descriptor standards
bullet Taught how to evaluate wines using proper sensory techniques

bullet Given the opportunity to be one of Vinquiry’s descriptive panelists

Descriptive sensory analysis is one of the best tools available to evaluate wines.  It isolates unique nuances in a wine style, records attributes and descriptors, and measures their intensity.  What better way to sell wines than to show and tell customers exactly what they will smell and taste?

Call 707-259-0740 for more information on scheduled times and fees.