Cravero, Maria Carla, 2023. "Innovations in Sparkling Wine Production: A Review on the Sensory Aspects and the Consumer’s Point of View" Beverages 9, no. 3: 80.
Sparkling wines have a relevant economic value (42.12 bilion dollars in 2022), and they are mostly produced worldwide mainly with the Traditional method (in bottles) or with the Charmat method (in autoclaves).
The world production volume is concentrated (70–80%) in the European Union, especially in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, followed by the USA. Other countries are less important. New producing countries have emerged in recent years, particularly the UK, Portugal, Brazil, and Australia. In the UK, sparkling wines represent more than 70% of the total domestic wine production (OIV 2018 data).
The paper shows the most recent studies (last 5 years) on sparkling wines which consider the effects on the sensory characteristics and the consumer preferences.
Many studies concern Traditional sparkling wines and the second fermentation: yeasts, aging on lees, base wine, and sugar type.
Non-conventional grape varieties and novel or indigenous yeast starters - Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces - can be influencing tools for innovation and diversification of high-quality sparkling wines. The dry yeast preparation method – “pied de cuve” or culture medium – employed in the second fermentation can influence the final products. Since aging on lees is very slow and expensive process, many studies focused on this subject, proposing alternatives. The contact with yeasts seems to influence the “umami” taste, also as flavour enhancer. Different sugar types (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) employed in the second fermentation can influence the sparkling wines characteristics and the consumer preference.
The quality of the base wine plays a key role in Charmat and Traditional method. It was showed that using a high-quality base wine and a long ageing, consumers could not recognize the production technique.
The volatile and sensory profiles of sparkling Wines (Traditional or Charmat) have been widely investigated, to evaluate new varieties or new products.
Innovative oenological techniques and the employment of new varieties (white, rosé, or red) have been experimented in traditional and emerging wine producer countries.
Moreover, it has been shown that several ancestral methods (with a single fermentation) can be an opportunity for producers to obtain good quality wines, with low levels of SO2 and alcohol.
The consumer studies literature mainly focused on the preferences of sparkling wines independently from their sensory properties. Generally, other factors were considered (age, gender, income, and wine information).
Furthers studies could investigate consumer preferences linked to sensory properties and the sensory effects of some sparkling wines for non-traditional consumers.
Good subjects could be the study of innovative and alternative containers and the evaluation of the wine shelf-life, sparkling wines with a low alcohol content or without alcohol, with a reduced addition of SO2 and organic wines. The application of innovative sensory methods is also desirable.
Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages9030080
INVITATION to contribute to the SPECIAL NUMBER “Sparkling Wines” of BEVERAGES (MDPI) IF=3.0
More information:
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/beverages/special_issues/440S9AWLY8
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2025
