The results were presented in an informative tasting at Barcelona Wine Week led by the companies that have promoted the project.

The GO SensoVI scientific project has brought together the wine and cork sectors to investigate and verify the impact of cork stoppers on the second fermentation of sparkling wines. The project is the result of the interest in recovering the use of cork stoppers in the second fermentation of sparkling wines and studying for the first time in a scientific way what the added value of using this element is.

The sensory or consumption conclusions of the project were presented on Monday, February 3, in an informative tasting at Barcelona Wine Week in front of a professional audience of fifty people who were able to see how the incorporation of cork in the second fermentation of sparkling wines is an upward trend. The corkers Joan J. Puig (Francisco Oller SA) and Margarida Matas (TESA Cork) and the winemakers Jaume Gramona (Gramona) and Ton Mata (Recaredo) participated.

Method and conclusions

On the one hand, a consumer study has been carried out to determine the acceptability and expectations of potential customers for the developed products and evaluate their perception of different characteristics of sparkling wine and cork closure. On the other hand, a physical-chemical and sensory evaluation of the drawing process has been carried out taking into account different conditions of the production process, including the type of closure.

Among the conclusions obtained from the consumer study, carried out with 155 meticulously selected people who are regular consumers of sparkling wines, it is worth highlighting that the majority of the study participants relate the fact that the aging of the sparkling wine has been carried out with a cork stopper with a higher quality and more sustainable product. Although they also associate this fact with a higher value product and would be willing to pay more for this type of product. Everything indicates that the ideal sparkling wine is one that has undergone the second fermentation with a cork stopper, that has had a longer aging time and that has been manually disgorged.  

At a physical and sensory level, significant differences have been detected in some of the parameters of the sparkling wines evaluated, depending on the type of closure used during the draw, indicating a tendency to develop a more complex aromatic profile or with a greater diversity of aroma families in the case of cork closures. These differences have been perceived by a tasting panel of 8 qualified and trained tasters following a methodology accredited by ENAC, could have a crucial impact on the production and marketing decisions of sparkling wines in the future, which is why research is continuing in this line.

About the GO SensoVI project

GO SensoVI has been a collaborative initiative that has brought together the wine and cork sectors to promote research into sustainability. The main objective of the project has been to study the effect of cork closure on the second fermentation in the bottle (tirage) of sparkling wines, as opposed to the crown closure, which is the most used by most producers.

This project has been led by a consortium of leading companies and institutions in the sector: RECAREDO and GRAMONA, two CORPINNAT wineries recognized for the artisanal production of long-aged sparkling wines with natural cork stoppers; the cork manufacturing companies OLLER and TESA of the Association of Cork Companies of Catalonia (AECORK); and the research centers Catalan Institute of Vines and Wine (INCAVI), Institute of Agro-Food Research and Technology (IRTA) and Fundació Catalan Institute of Cork (ICSuro), which has also coordinated the project.

A more sustainable future for the wine and cork sector

The results of the GO SensoVI not only point to an improvement in the quality and competitiveness of sparkling wines, but also have important implications for sustainability. The use of cork, a sustainable, recyclable and biodegradable 100% material, as an alternative to multi-material crown corks, contributes to preserving the biodiversity of cork forests and promoting the sustainable management of these natural areas in Catalonia.

The project has had a global budget of €246,511.63 and has been supported by the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Generalitat of Catalonia through Operation 16.01.01 of Cooperation for innovation of the Rural Development Program of Catalonia 2014-2022 and by the European Union through ERDF funds.