Unveiling the chemical headspace of sparkling wine glasses by laser spectroscopy

Abstract

Right after serving a sparkling wine into a glass, thousands of rising and bursting bubbles convey gas-phase CO₂ and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace above the champagne surface, thus progressively modifying the gaseous chemical space perceived by the consumer [1]. Champagne and other traditional method sparkling wines being complex water/ethanol mixtures (with typically 12-13% ethanol by volume), gaseous ethanol is therefore undoubtedly the most abundant VOC in the glass headspace [1]. Yet, both gaseous ethanol and CO₂ are known to have a multimodal influence on wine’s perception [2]. As their abundance increases, these two gaseous species stimulate the human trigeminal system, leading to the so-called carbonic bite (induced by excess gaseous CO₂), while gaseous ethanol results in a tingling/burning sensation [2,3]. Monitoring simultaneously gaseous CO₂ and ethanol (in space and time) in the headspace of sparkling wine glasses is therefore crucial to better understand the neuro-physicochemical mechanisms responsible for aroma release and flavour perception during sparkling wine tasting.

Over the past decade, a diode laser infrared spectrometer has been developed and progressively upgraded in our group to accurately monitor gaseous CO₂ through the headspace of champagne glasses [4]. After the addition of a multipath system dedicated to the mapping of CO₂ throughout the glass headspace [5,6], and the design of an optomechanical prototype dedicated to the replication of the human gesture of swirling wine [7], the spectrometer has recently been once again upgraded to monitor gaseous ethanol thanks to the recent interband cascade laser (ICL) technology [8]. From the start of sparkling wine serving, and during the next minutes following, kind of spatial-, temperature-, and glass shape-dependent gas-phase CO₂ and ethanol footprints were revealed in the headspace of glasses. It is noteworthy to mention that accurately quantifying gaseous ethanol in the headspace of wine glasses is a first step towards quantifying the myriads of VOCs responsible for the wine’s bouquet, which also paves the way for a better understanding of the role of the glass and overall tasting conditions in the world of wine and spirits in the broad sense.

References

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[8] Lecasse, F., Vallon, R., Jacquemin, C., Alfonso, V., Cilindre, C., Parvitte, B., Zéninari, V., & Liger-Belair, G. (2025). ACS Sensors, under review