Abstract:The flavor of raspberry wine is strongly influenced by its organic acid composition and concentration. To investigate the impact of organic acids on flavor, the composition, content, differential metabolites, and metabolic pathways of organic acids were analyzed. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was employed to quantify the organic acids in raspberry wine, and principal component analysis and significant difference testing were used to identify differential metabolites. KEGG metabolic pathway annotation and type analysis, along with sensory evaluation, electronic nose and electronic tongue technologies were utilized to explore the flavor of raspberry wine and investigate the impact of differential organic acid metabolites on the flavor of raspberry wine at various aging stages. The results identified 23 significantly differential metabolites between two wines of different aging time. Among them, the contents of five metabolites, including caffeic acid and shikimic acid, were upregulated with longer aging, while the contents of 18 metabolites, such as 4-aminobutyric acid and α-ketoglutarate, were down-regulated over aging. A total of 68 metabolic pathways were annotated through the analysis of differential metabolites, including the citrate cycle and C5-branched dibasic acid metabolism. Sensory evaluation revealed that raspberry wine aged for 6 weeks exhibited superior scores in indicators such as acidity and bitterness compared to the 4-week-aged sample. Electronic tongue analysis demonstrated that raspberry wine with 6 weeks' aging time had a higher score in the test of umami and richness, alongside reductions in bitter and sour taste attributes. Electronic nose profiling identified that prolonged aging generated a more complex and intense aromatic profile. Based on metabolomics technology, this study aimed to explore the potential effects of differential metabolites on the flavor of raspberry wine with different aging time by analyzing the changes in differential metabolites in metabolic pathways, elucidate the shifts in organic acid composition and concentration during the aging process, and provide insight into the underlying material basis for flavor evolution in raspberry wine aging from the perspective of organic acid metabolism.