Sparkling wine identity: designing texture and predictive intelligence

Abstract

A great sparkling wine must, first of all, be a great wine. It is not the bubble itself that provides the additional quality that neuroscience now recognises in this product category: quality arises from the matrix surrounding the bubbles – a dynamic balance of proteins, polysaccharides, glycerol, polyphenols, acidity, pH and cations, all maintained in a precarious and unstable equilibrium with external factors such as light and oxidation.

This presentation therefore examines how the variables of matrix, time, redox potential and taste can be decisive in identifying where the sparkling winemaker begins to design the base wine, looking as far ahead as its post-disgorgement evolution. Not all wines can achieve this destiny, and the architecture of the bubble – if it may be called that – requires attention and specific practices even before harvest, in the vineyard. The quality of sparkling wines is built through a chain of care and, through conscious pressing, separate plot-by-plot vinification and selective fining, including modulation of the ζ potential, reaches the blending stage. This is an essential operation in which the winemaker’s experience is used to shape the future sensory perceptions of the wine.

In this context, predictive intelligence focuses on creating a model that supports the identification of sensory profiles in base wines suitable for developing the different product types demanded by the market. By integrating conventional, non-conventional and sensory parameters, the behaviour of the base wine under pressure, the persistence of the perlage, post-tirage evolution and post-disgorgement longevity can be predicted.

“Sparklenology” is precision winemaking: there are no shortcuts, only an unbroken chain of technical choices that transforms the matrix into a memorable sensory experience. Designing a sparkling wine means going beyond the four dimensions of taste.

References

1. Camoni, D. Sparkling wine identity. Designing texture and predictive intelligence. Recording of the presentation delivered at Enoforum Spain 2026, Zaragoza, 20–21 May 2026. Available soon on Infowine Premium: https://vinidea.it/es/brand/infowine/