Emo-Sensory Profiling in Foods and Wine

Emo-sensory profiling represents an emerging multidisciplinary approach within sensory and consumer science, exploring the emotional responses elicited by the sensory characteristics of foods and beverages, particularly wine. Moving beyond traditional sensory analysis focused on hedonic attributes, emo-sensory profiling integrates emotional dimensions into the evaluation of consumer experiences. This chapter outlines the theoretical foundations and key methodologies of emo-sensory profiling, including tools such as emotion lexicons, emoji-based scales, and facial expression recognition software, such as FaceReader. One case study on Douro wines illustrates how emotional responses vary across wine types and consumer demographics, with findings showing that women displayed higher emotional arousal and that Port wines evoked stronger surprise reactions. This review demonstrates that emotion-based profiling enables more effective consumer segmentation than hedonic scales and enhances innovation in marketing and product design, particularly in immersive wine tourism experiences supported by virtual reality. Furthermore, the integration of psychophysiological and digital tools allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the multisensory emotional landscape of food and wine. Taken together, these insights show how emo-sensory profiling can serve as a strategic tool for aligning product attributes with emotional engagement, thus advancing consumer-centered innovation in the agri-food and wine sectors.