Mechanistic insights into α-cyclodextrin-mediated enhancement of phenolic extraction and aroma–sensory quality during wine fermentation: evidence from metabolomics and aroma–sensory relationships

α-CD significantly enhances the extraction of phenolics during wine fermentation. • α-CD promotes accumulation of key volatile esters, enhancing fruity and floral aroma. • α-CD is associated with amino acid metabolism changes linked to aroma formation. • α-CD-induced volatile enrichment strongly correlate with enhanced sensory perception. • α-CD offers a novel dual-function strategy to enhance wine aroma and sensory quality. This study investigated the potential mechanisms by which α-CD enhances phenolic extraction, modulates aroma compound accumulation, and improves sensory quality during wine fermentation. The addition of α-CD significantly increased phenolic extraction and promoted the accumulation of several key aroma-active volatiles. Sensory evaluation indicated that wines treated with α-CD exhibited enhanced fruity, floral, and berry aroma attributes compared with the control. PLSR analysis showed that multiple high-OAV volatiles were associated with fruity, floral, sweet, green, sour-fruit, and berry sensory attributes, indicating clear relationships between chemical composition and sensory perception. Untargeted metabolomic analysis further suggested that α-CD treatment was associated with changes in amino acid-related metabolism and aroma precursor availability, which may contribute to the accumulation of fermentation-derived aroma compounds. Collectively, these findings suggest that α-CD may improve phenolic content, aroma complexity, and sensory quality through complementary effects involving phenolic extraction, selected volatile retention, and fermentation-associated metabolic changes. Download: Download high-res image (229KB) Download: Download full-size image