Quote: Sensory science was defined by the Institute for Food Technologists (IFT) as a scientific method used to evoke, measure, analyze, and interpret those responses to products as perceived through the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing.
The role of UC Davis was important in: psychophysics and psychometrics, discrimination testing, consumer sensory testing, descriptive analysis, and the use of statistics to analyze the data. However, these disparate methods were present at the same historical moment, but not necessarily cohesively and concisely standardized into a science. Hildegarde argues that the University of California at Davis had the key role in creating what is now sensory science, through facilitating cohesion and subsequently disseminating of sensory science worldwide.
I met Hildegarde fourteen years ago as my panel chair, while judging at Mundus Vini in Neustadt and der Wein Strasse. In the first day together each panel normally finds its own tasting rhythm and, although it is never a race, I enjoy a brisk pace which focusses the mind. Under her leadership we were indeed efficient and sharp and in the following days often the first panel to complete the day’s wines. I discovered that Hildegarde not only comes from South Africa, but was a leading light in sensory science world wide– a field which has always fascinated me.
She was the first woman to complete a BSc in Agriculture with Enology as the emphasis at Stellenbosch University in 1977. The 70’s was a fascinating time for change and growth in the wine world globally. In the South African wine industry we experienced, amongst other things, the rise of wines estates, Bordeaux style blends, the first Wine Route created in Stellenbosch, Wine of Origin legislation and in 1979, the founding of the Cape Wine Academy, which to this day nurtures a love and understanding of wine for all. In the spirit of this renaissance Hildegarde opened the door to a new era for women in wine and looking at her career gives insight into the development and history of sensory science and the important role often played by women. As a research field, in its current incarnation, sensory science is about eighty years old.
When she finished her degree with excellent credentials, she interviewed for 17 positions but hiring a woman in a winemaking role was difficult to entertained. Eventually she found a job at the Oude Meester Group with the Rupert Research Facility. Piet Vos was her boss and he and a colleague, Rodney Gray, had just published a paper (Vos & Gray 1979) on the production of hydrogen sulfide during must fermentations. They wanted to study the effects of using di-ammonium phosphate on hydrogen sulfite production and Hildegarde had to manage the multitude of fermentations which was needed. This led to her first publication (Vos et al.1978) which paved the way to all nutrient additions we do during fermentation today.
Hoping to overcome the gender disadvantage she enrolled in the Food Science master’s degree with an emphasis in Enology at the University of California, Davis. She had taken most of the required courses for the degree and on a whim enrolled in Rose Marie Pangborn’s Sensory Evaluation Food course, not required for her degree. About five weeks into the quarter, she realized she had found her calling – to teach and do research in the area of sensory science for the rest of her career.
This was a major life-change which took a few years to pull together, but eventually she landed in Ann Noble, her PhD advisor’s laboratory, doing her PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry which involved flavor chemistry and sensory science but she really became a sensory scientist. Three publications from that work covered lifelong interests: flavor chemistry (Heymann et al. 1986), sensory science (Heymann and Noble 1987) and statistics (Heymann and Noble 1989). A very interesting piece of information from her PhD dissertation is that she was the first to determine that 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine was light sensitive.
After completion of the PhD degree she was swiftly employed as assistant professor of Food Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1986.
When Ann Noble retired, Hildegarde was appointed a Professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis from January 2003. Although sad to leave the University of Missouri, she was elated at the new challenge in a familiar place. Re-invigorating her research, working with a great group of colleagues as well as some amazing students and post-doctoral fellows has been inspiring and fulfilling. After 44 years in sensory science Hildegarde maintains that chemical analysis is no match for the human nose and mouth! Do not have any fear that science might replace human tasters soon, I note with some relief.
As early mentors she mentions her father, Ferdinand Heymann who, contrary to many in the 70’s, believed a woman was capable of anything she set her mind to. Joel van Wyk, then professor of Enology at the University of Stellenbosch was a champion supporter and she still considers Duimpie Bayly as the best boss she ever had. Roger Boulton, her MS major professor, Rose Marie Pangborn and Ann Noble, who invented the Aroma Wheel, were the mentors who really showed her the path to sensory science.
She is the author and co-author of many books and publications, one of which “Sensory Evaluation of Foods: Principles and Practises” is currently the most prescribed sensory textbook worldwide. Widely recognized and awarded she received the American Society for Enology and Viticulture’s (ASEV) highest honor in 2020 – the ASEV Merit Award. On receipt of which she said: “Broadening the understanding of winemaking from a sensory perspective is a contribution I am deeply proud of.”
She lives happily in Davis with her beloved husband, Bill Mathews, and their precious cats.