WSU Researching Sparkling Wine

As you prepare to ring in the New Year with a glass of sparkling wine, do you know the amount of research that takes place so that drink tastes and feels just right?  Researchers at Washington State University are looking at not only the flavor of the grapes used, but also the carbonation.  Dr. Carolyn Ross told the Washington Ag Network there are several aspects to what is known as mouthfeel that appear at different times, which she says can enhance or detract from the experience of drinking sparkling wine.

“What we were able to do is divide these mouthfeel attributes into what we call early presenting, so those are things like foaminess and bite, and then things that presented later on in the evaluation of the sparkling wine, things like bitterness and burning.  So those are attributes that present after the wine has been swallowed.”

Dr. Ross said they were able to track those attributes back to the amount of carbon dioxide that’s in the wine.  She added this research will help in the process of making sparkling wine that’s more enjoyable and desirable for consumers worldwide.

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