Factors affecting effervescence of sparkling wines

Effervescence is one of the essential qualitative characteristics of sparkling wines. The aim of this study was to evaluate chemical and physicochemical factors that affect the quality of effervescence of sparkling wines. High-quality sparkling wines made by Charmat method, mostly from Czech production, had been selected to monitor these effects. Firstly, we determined the optimal state of effervescence on the basis of sensory evaluation - long, intensive, small to medium-sized bubbles with a higher number of bubble chains. Using statistical processing of the sensory analysis results and qualitative parameters analysis we found that the intensity of effervescence and the number of chains are related to surface tension which is affected especially by protein content (assimilable nitrogen) and volatile substances. Other parameters that strongly correlated with the intensity of effervescence and the number of chains were CO2 content and pressure in the bottleEffervescence is one of the essential qualitative characteristics of sparkling wines. The aim of this study was to evaluate chemical and physicochemical factors that affect the quality of effervescence of sparkling wines. High-quality sparkling wines made by Charmat method, mostly from Czech production, had been selected to monitor these effects. Firstly, we determined the optimal state of effervescence on the basis of sensory evaluation - long, intensive, small to medium-sized bubbles with a higher number of bubble chains. Using statistical processing of the sensory analysis results and qualitative parameters analysis we found that the intensity of effervescence and the number of chains are related to surface tension which is affected especially by protein content (assimilable nitrogen) and volatile substances. Other parameters that strongly correlated with the intensity of effervescence and the number of chains were CO2 content and pressure in the bottle