Rate My Professor Elizabeth Tomasino

Elizabeth Tomasino is an Associate Professor of Enology in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University, within the College of Agricultural Sciences and affiliated with the Oregon Wine Research Institute. She earned a B.A. in Music - Vocal Performance and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 2004, an M.S. in Food Science from Cornell University in 2006, and a Ph.D. in Oenology from Lincoln University, New Zealand, in 2012. Prior to her appointment at Oregon State University, she served as a Research Assistant at Lincoln University's Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences from 2008 to 2012.

Tomasino's research specializes in wine sensory analysis and flavor chemistry, determining relationships between sensory and chemical data for aroma compounds essential to wine quality and regional differentiation. Her investigations include the presence and concentration of chiral aroma compounds in wine using multidimensional gas chromatography, global/regional/sub-regional wine styles, sensory analysis for wine education and consumer preferences, and the influence of non-volatile components on wine aroma. She has advanced understanding of smoke taint by identifying thiophenols contributing to ashy flavors alongside volatile phenols in wildfire smoke-affected wines. Leading the Tomasino lab, she employs undergraduate and graduate students in flavor chemistry and sensory science. Key publications encompass 'The potential effect of β-ionone and β-damascenone on sensory perception of pinot noir wine aroma' (Molecules, 2021), 'Odor perception interactions between free monoterpene isomers and wine composition of Pinot Gris wines' (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2020), 'Aroma composition of 2-year-old New Zealand Pinot Noir wine and its relationship to sensory characteristics using canonical correlation analysis and addition/omission tests' (Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 2015), and 'Untargeted lipidomic approach in studying pinot noir wine lipids and predicting wine origin' (Food Chemistry, 2021). Tomasino received Wine Enthusiast Magazine's Innovator of the Year in the 2022 Wine Star Awards, Oregon State University's Promising Scholar Award (2022), and the Savery Outstanding Young Faculty Award (2022).