FRANCESCA VENTURI, GIANPAOLO ANDRICH, MIKE F. QUARTACCI,
ISABELLA TAGLIERI, CHIARA SANMARTIN*, ANGELA ZINNAI
*Corresponding author 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (DAFE), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Abstract

An experimental research was developed to individuate the possible correlations occurring among the evaporation rates of different wines (full-bodied red, rosé and white) and the geometrical parameters  or their mathematical combinations of six different glasses.

The results clearly evidenced the possibility to relate the evaporation rate of a wine with some dimensionless parameters deriving from the linear combination of the geometrical characteristics of the glasses. Moreover, it was possible to individuate a mathematical model relating the evaporation rates with the dimensionless parameters which could be usefully utilized to design new glasses able to enhance the evaporation rates of wines. This may enable consumers to fully perceive the “bouquet” of a wine, which represents a key component of its organoleptic qualities.

INTRODUCTION

In sensorial analysis of wine, the glass represents an essential tool which makes possible the wine to interact with the taster’s senses. As recently shown by several authors (1-5), also the emotions elicited by foods are affected by the containers used for tasting. In particular, this may occur for the wine/glass interaction, as shown by the emotional responses to glass evidenced by panellists who evaluated the effect of the glass shape on the experience of wine tasting.

When someone sets about drinking a wine, (s)he has different glasses to choose: the options are linked to the material, shape and appearance (2). Since the choice of a particular type of vessel could affect how the wine is perceived during consumption, many researchers have investigated the effect of different glass materials, colours and shapes on the perceived aroma, taste and flavour of wines (6-13). 

For what concerns the perception of aroma, taste and flavour of wines served from differently shaped and sized glasses, the results of the available researches are contradictory. In particular, on the basis of the data reported in the literature, it appears that th ...