Vitriolic and sensory characterization of commercial pomegranate wines: Key aroma-active compounds revealed by HS-SPME-GC-MS and HS-GC-IMS

First dual-technique volatilomic analysis of pomegranate wine. • Triple-screening for key aroma compounds in pomegranate wine. • PLSR correlated volatiles with sensory attributes in pomegranate wine. • Data driven strategy bridging chemical analysis and industrial application. Key aroma-active compounds of pomegranate wine remain inadequately characterized. Herein, volatile profiles of twelve commercial pomegranate wines and one dry red wine were analyzed using complementary headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS). 144 volatile compounds were identified and quantified. Through an integrated screening approach combining odor activity values (OAV >1), relative odor activity values (ROAV >1), and variable importance in projection (VIP >1), 21 key aroma-active compounds were determined. Esters such as ethyl hexanoate (OAV up to 11,122), ethyl octanoate (up to 23,920), and ethyl butanoate (up to 4626) dominated fruity and floral notes, while ( E )-2-hexenal and hexanal contributed green attributes. Blended pomegranate-grape wines exhibited enhanced ester profiles. Sample P3 (with ashberry) achieved the highest sensory score (87.91/100), which was attributed to high linalool (OAV = 3909) and ionone (OAV = 25,711). Partial least squares regression (PLSR) confirmed positive correlations between ethyl esters and fruity/floral notes. Based on these findings, a practical quality control strategy was proposed, including target OAV benchmarks and the recommended use of GC-IMS for rapid volatile screening. This study provides a flavor fingerprint and theoretical support for quality control and improvement of pomegranate wine.