Assessing the Sensory Profiles of Sparkling Wine over Time

Abstract

Sparkling wine sensory properties are driven by many factors, including the amount of CO₂ and pressure in the bottle. We were interested in characterizing the sensory attributes of Californian blanc de blanc sparkling wine, as well as the sensory impact of various effervescence conditions such as artificial nucleation points on the aroma and flavor. Preliminary, the effect effervescence conditions on the aroma and flavor intensity was studied. For this, three different nucleation treatments (air-dried glasses, paper towel dried glasses and glasses with an etched nucleation point) were compared. Thirty-three panelists assessed overall aroma and flavor intensity for each treatment in triplicate. No statistically significant differences in aroma and flavor intensity were found. Secondarily, the sensory profiles of eight Californian blanc de blanc sparkling wines were determined using a generic descriptive analysis (DA). Eleven trained judges used visual, aroma, taste, mouthfeel and bubble descriptors to characterize the sensory differences among the sparkling wines. A potential temporal effect on the aroma and flavor development of Californian blanc de blanc was determined, by performing the DA 1 minute and 5 minutes after pouring, using the same descriptors. In addition, atmospheric pressure of each wine bottle was measured to determine the influence of pressure on taste and aroma over time. Sparkling wines assessed at one and five minutes showed a significant difference in all wines, with regard to time. This difference was characterized by a decrease in bubble attributes and allowed for greater differences within the sample set; thus, at five minutes there was a greater differentiation among the wines. No correlations between bottle pressure and sensory attributes were found.