Sensory and Instrumental Evaluation of Alcoholic Beverages

Sensory scientist Dr. Hildegarde Heymann joined the Department of Viticulture and Enology in January 2003. Formerly a Professor at the University of Missouri, Dr. Heymann has worked in all areas of sensory science and has evaluated numerous food and non-food products including wine, meat, ice cream, cereals, juices, cat litter, soap, and toothpaste. At UC Davis Dr. Heymann has continued her work with descriptive analysis methodology and multivariate data analyses. She has also worked on spirits such as gin, mescal and tequila, food-wine interactions, wine color perception, fruit such as raisins, tomatoes and figs. She is the co-author (with Harry T. Lawless from Cornell University) of the sensory textbook Sensory Evaluation of Foods: Principles and Practices, currently the most prescribed sensory textbook worldwide. Additionally, she has presented workshops and short courses on sensory science in South Africa, Finland, New Zealand and the USA. Heymann was named Honorary Researcher Lecturer by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture in 2004. In 2000, Dr. Heymann received the Faculty Alumni Award from the University of Missouri Alumni Association; in 1993 she received the Gold Chalk Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching from the Graduate Professional Council; and in 1991 and 1993 she was awarded ""Professor of the Year"" from the Food Science Association. Dr. Ebeler's research is focused in two major areas: The development and application of analytical chemistry techniques to study wine flavor chemistry and the physico-chemical interactions of flavors with nonvolatile wine components; and the elucidation of the chemical mechanisms for observed health effects of wine and wine components. She has been invited to speak about wine flavor chemistry and health effects at a number of national and international meetings, and has organized and served as co-chair for special symposia on wine flavor chemistry at the national meetings of the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Enology and Viticulture.