Improvements of Methods for Sparkling Base Wine Foam Measurements and Effect of Wine Filtration on Foam Behavior

¹ Moæt et Chandon, Research Laboratory, 20 avenue de Champagne, 51205 Epernay, France
² Laboratoire d'Äérothermique du CNRS, 4ter route des Gardes, 92190 Meudon, France.

New sparging procedures to measure some foam properties of sparkling wines were proposed. Using these methods, we showed that the foam expansion (E), stability (L_F), and Bikerman coefficient () had reproducibilities of 14%, 21%, and 8%, respectively. It was also clearly demonstrated that foam expansion and stability drastically decreased when wines were filtered, but the average bubble lifetime remained quite stable under the same conditions. Wine filtration and the chemical composition of the wine impacted the foam properties.

Key words: foam, sparkling wine, surface-active materials, particles, filtration

Submitted on July 13, 1992