The oral cavity hosts nearly a quarter of all the touch receptors in our body. When we think of the sense of touch, we often consider it\u2014at least this is my personal impression\u2014as a less subtle, somewhat coarse sense compared to more “refined” ones like smell or sight. However, when enjoying cava or any food, touch plays a crucial role. In fact, certain metaphorical terms in wine tasting\u2014such as “body” or “a round wine”\u2014are quite common.Texture and other tactile properties of what we consume often lead to allegorical descriptions, many of which relate to geometry (like wines being called horizontal or vertical). Meanwhile, senses like smell or sight tend to use more straightforward and less poetic terms. In this article, we\u2019ll explore how the mouth modulates the experience of sparkling wine, among other insights.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s begin with a brief look at physiology. The primary receptors in our lips include taste receptors, concentrated in the taste buds. These can be divided into:<\/p>\n
Additionally, there are:<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve omitted less relevant receptors for wine tasting, such as those for pain or tongue position.<\/p>\n
Among the nuances perceived during tasting, texture\u2014commonly referred to as \u201cmouthfeel\u201d\u2014is one of the most significant. We talk about wines being silky (smooth and pleasant), rough (usually young reds with high tannin), unctuous (fatty or velvety), creamy (soft and enveloping), or sharp (piercing sensation due to high acidity). Astringency\u2014experienced as dryness, roughness, or grittiness on the tongue, palate, and gums\u2014is caused by tannins, phenolic compounds with at least one benzene ring, found in grape skins, seeds, stems, and oak barrels. It\u2019s more common in young red wines. As for temperature, beyond the obvious aspect of serving at the optimal degree, certain compounds can create a burning sensation (e.g., alcohol), while others can impart coolness even at the same temperature (e.g., eucalyptus).<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most frequently used term in describing how wine feels in the mouth is \u201cbody.\u201d This evokes the idea of weight or a certain pressure on the tongue. Several factors contribute to this sensation. Alcohol content is a key one: the more alcohol, the fuller the body. The dry extract (solid components like sugars, minerals, phenolics) also enhances this perception\u2014hence why sweet wines often feel fuller than dry ones. Acidity, on the other hand, has the opposite effect: more acidic cavas feel lighter and fresher. Astringency, particularly in red wines, can also add to the sense of body. Despite the efforts of sommeliers, in the end, tasting is highly subjective: it’s the consumer who pays and needs to enjoy the experience. Wines are typically categorized into light-bodied, medium-bodied, and full-bodied.<\/p>\n
In the case of cava\u2014especially from the Pened\u00e8s region where we produce it at Alsinac\u2014Xarel\u00b7lo is the grape variety that most contributes to the structure and body of the sparkling wine, while Macabeo and Parellada are lighter. It\u2019s worth noting that Macabeo is the most commonly used variety in other cava-producing regions. Lees aging and sugar content also increase the sensation of body, similar to still wines. Fine, persistent bubbles provide freshness and contribute to a lighter mouthfeel.<\/p>\n
As mentioned, lees aging time impacts the body perceived. It also directly influences tactile sensations like acidity. Some believe that aging time correlates with quality. While longer aging does enhance cava, we must stress once again that pleasure is personal\u2014not dictated by a number like pH or an expert\u2019s rating. Some people prefer young cavas\u2014not necessarily because they are cheaper (while others clearly prefer reservas).<\/p>\n
To prepare this article, we consulted the following sources:<\/p>\n
<\/body> The oral cavity hosts nearly a quarter of all the touch receptors in our body. When we think of the sense of touch, we often consider it\u2014at least this is my personal impression\u2014as a less subtle, somewhat coarse sense compared to more “refined” ones like smell or sight. However, when enjoying cava or any food, […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[484],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cava-tasting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23988"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23998,"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23988\/revisions\/23998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsinac.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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