Dr Kerry Wilkinson

Biography/ Background

Bachelor of Science majoring in Organic Chemistry (Flinders University, 1999)

Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Flinders University, 2000)

PhD: Oak derived flavour compounds and their contribution to wine and spirits (Flinders University, 2004)

Research Chemist, Australian Water Quality Centre (2004-2005)

Research Fellow - Wine Chemist, Curtin University of Technology (2005-2007)

Lecturer in Oenology, The University of Adelaide (2007-present)

Research Interests

My research interests primarily concern the chemistry of grapes and wine; in particular the chemical and sensory analysis of volatile and non-volatile components of organoleptic significance and the influence of environmental conditions, viticultural management practices and winemaking techniques on their biochemical formation and degradation. Current research projects include: (i) Oak derived flavour in wine and spirits; (ii) Viticultural management of 'green characters' in grapes and wine; (iii) Smoke taint in grapes and wine and (iv) Characterisation of grape berry tannins.

Publications

Kennison, K.R., Wilkinson, K.L., Pollnitz, A.P., Williams, H.G. and Gibberd, M.R. Effect of timing and duration of grapevine exposure to smoke on the composition and sensory properties of wine. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 2009, 15, 228-237.

Wilkinson, K.L. Oak lactone formation in wine and spirits: The role of glycosidic precursors. Lambert Academic Publishing: Koln, Germany, 2009.

Fudge, A.L., Elsey, G.M., Hayasaka, Y. and Wilkinson, K.L. Quantitative analysis of the glucosyl precursor to cis-Oak Lactone in oak extracts using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry based stable isotope dilution analysis. J. Chromatogr. A, 2008, 1215, 51-56.

Kennison, K.R., Gibberd, M.R., Pollnitz, A.P. and Wilkinson, K.L. Smoke-derived taint in wine: The release of volatile phenols during fermentation of Merlot juice following grapevine exposure to smoke. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56, 7379-7383.

Kennison, K.R., Wilkinson, K.L., Williams, H.G., Smith, J.H. and Gibberd, M.R. Smoke-derived taint in wine: Effect of postharvest smoke exposure of grapes on the chemical composition and sensory characteristics of wine. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55, 10897-10901.

Hayasaka, Y., Wilkinson, K.L., Elsey, G.M., Raunkjaer, M. and Sefton, M.A. Identification of natural oak lactone precursors in extracts of American and French oak woods by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55, 9195-9201.

Wilkinson, K.L., Kennedy, U.J. and Gibberd, M.R. (2006) Green characters in Cabernet Sauvignon. Oag, D., DeGaris, K., Partridge, S., Dundon, C., Francis, M., Johnstone, R. and Hamilton, R. (eds.) Proceedings of the â?^~Finishing the jobâ?^TM - Optimal ripening of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz seminar; 21 July 2006; Mildura, Australia: Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology: 60-64.

Chow, C., Fabris, R., Wilkinson, K.L., Fitzgerald, F. and Drikas, M. Characterising NOM to Assess Treatability, AWA Water Journal, 2006, 33 (2), 74-85.

Wilkinson, K.L., Chow, C., Fabris R., and Drikas, M. Organic characterisation tools for drinking water treatment - A summary of applicability. Proceedings of the Ozwater Watershed Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 2005.

Wilkinson, K.L., Elsey, G.M., Prager R.H., Pollnitz, A.P. and Sefton, M.A. Formation of Oak Lactone from 3-Methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic Acid and its 4-O-b-D-glucopyranosides: A Hydrolytic and Pyrolytic Study. In: State-of-the-Art in Flavour Chemistry and Biology; Hofmann, T., Rothe, M. and Schieberle, P. Eds; Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Lebensmittelchemie, Garching, 2005, 213-220.

Wilkinson, K.L., Elsey, G.M., Prager, R.H., Tanaka, T. and Sefton, M.A. Precursors to Oak Lactone II: Synthesis, Separation and Cleavage of Four b-D-Glucopyranosides of 3-Methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic Acid. Tetrahedron, 2004, 60, 6092-6100.

Wilkinson, K.L., Elsey, G.M., Prager R.H., Pollnitz, A.P. and Sefton, M.A. Rates of Formation of cis- and trans-Oak Lactone from 3-Methyl-4-hydroxyoctanoic Acid. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2004, 52, 4213-4218.

Professional Associations

The Royal Australian Chemistry Institute - Member Chartered Chemist

The Australian Society for Viticulture and Oenology - Professional Member

Professional Interests

Organic Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Flavour Chemistry
Wine Science
Sensory Science
Viticulture
Oenology

Entry last updated: Saturday, 26 Sep 2009