Hello,
While reading up on Cabernet, I stumbled on the human olfactorial
sensitivity to pyrazines. Apaprently this is measured in ng/L (in wine, c.
15 ng/L, in a neutral solution, 6ng/L). This compares very favorably to, e
g, the sensitivty to TCA, which is measured in mg (it may start at about 6
mg/L). So, the difference is a factor of 6, i e, we are close to a million
times as sensitive to pyrazines as to TCA. Why are we so sensitive to this
group of compounds? What is the evolutionary gain?
Cheers
Nils