After Champagne popping, the first consumer’s observation is the shape of the cork stopper. Consumers expect a “mushroom shape”. Nevertheless, we sometimes observe a “barrel” shape due to inappropriate cork’s elastic properties. The aim of this study was to follow the loss of cork stopper resiliency during 26 months according to the density (d) of the cork in contact with the wine. 1680 disks were weighed + measured and divided in 6 density classes: High (H1 d= 0,19 g/cm3 – H2 d= 0,21 g/cm3), Medium (M, not studied) and Low (L1 d= 0,13 g/cm3 – L2 d= 0,14 g/cm3). Then, 138 technical cork stoppers were produced for each of the 4 studied groups. These corks consisted of an agglomerated natural cork granule body to which two natural cork disks were glued. A total of 552 bottles of sparkling wine were closed with these corks and open after 13, 19 and 26 months to follow cork resiliencies. Wine bottles were stored horizontally; thus, the external natural cork disks were in contact to the wine. During the 26 months of the study, highly significant differences (ANOVA) were observed between the resiliencies of H-corks and those of L-corks, whatever the time studied. The diameters of the L-corks were statistically higher than those of the H-corks. No significant differences were observed between L1 and L2 corks. At the opposite, differences were noted between H1 and H2 at 19 and 26 months. This could be explained by the heterogeneity of the resiliency that was higher for H-corks than for L-corks. Finally, the corks were visually (12 judges) divided in 3 classes corresponding to high (expected mushroom shape, i.e high resiliency), medium (irregular shape of the disk in contact with the wine and/or low premature deterioration of the expected resiliency) and low qualities (barrel shape = premature deterioration of the resiliency). The corks were also divided in 3 categories corresponding to 0-33%, 34-66% and 67-100% resiliency. A strong correlation was noted between the visual and the instrumental categorizations. This study strongly evidenced 1) the importance of the cork density on the cork stopper behaviour when opening the bottle and 2) the interest of an instrumental approach reflecting the consumer’s perception.

Del Barrio-Galán, R.a, b, Gómez-Parrini, A.a, Peña-Neira, A.b a Lallemand Inc. Chile y Compañía Limitada, Rosario Norte 407, piso 6, Las condes, Santiago, Chile b Department of Agro-Industry and Enology, Faculty of Agronomical Sciences, University of Chile, Post Office Box 1004, Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile It is well known that polysaccharides, mainly mannoproteins, play an important role on physical, chemical and sensory quality of wines. The ageing of white wines on lees is used in order to release higher amounts of polysaccharides by the autolytic processes in order to obtain higher-quality wines. However, this technique is too slow, because the temperature and pH conditions are not the most suitable for this process. In addition, it can also involve certain disadvantages such as a greater demand on winery resources, a longer period of wine storage, the appearance of reduction notes and some microbiological alterations.

In its 2020 beating cancer plan, the european commission announced plans for mandatory warning signs for alcoholic beverages. However, no concrete legislative proposal has been put forward so far. Instead, ireland passed national legislation in 2023 that requires warning signs for all alcoholic beverages from 2026. Despite significant effects for the common market, the eu commission did not this challenge this law in the so-called tris notification procedure. We argue that the commission’s inaction is consistent with the case law of the european court of justice: in the absence of harmonized rules, member states have a large margin of discretion to enact national health measures.

Lambrusco is a commercially successful sparkling red and rosé wine. With 13.06 million litres sold in 2021 was the second best-selling Italian wine after Chianti. According to National Catalogue of Vine Varieties there are thirteen Lambrusco Varieties with which to date are produced seven PDO wines. Among these, “Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce”, “Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro” and “Lambrusco di Sorbara” are the only ones that can be considered mono-varietal appellations, all located in Modena area. The PDOs contemplate the possibility of producing wines by secondary fermentation either in tank (Charmat method), or in bottle (Classico method). Sur lie is a third method commonly employed for Lambrusco, similar to the Classico method, from which differs for the absence of disgorgement.

It is well known that high oxygen levels and high ageing temperatures are detrimental to white wine’s composition and ageing capacity. However, these results, though valuable