Snap, Crackle and Pop!

Saturday was spent conducting tastings on sparkling water.

Sparkling water preference varies from country to country, with Germans drinking it almost exclusively and the UK consuming, on average, a 2:1 ratio of still to sparkling, certainly in the on-trade.

It is not perverse, however, to incorporate sparkling waters into our tasting schedule, even if it does mean that we are effectively doubling the number of wines and therefore the length of time required to commit to 'Minerals & Terroir'.

The fact is that people drink sparkling waters alongside wine also, so is it always the case that a low level of carbonation is preferable, or are there other factors involved?

I have decided to opt for ten different sparkling waters, with a variety of factors as for still waters i.e. TDS, origin, alkalinity. We have the added dimension of carbonation - something that is rightly categorised by Michael Mascha in his book 'Fine Waters' as:

• Effervescent e.g. Badoit
• Light e.g. Hildon, Malmberg
• Classic e.g. San Pellegrino
• Bold e.g. Perrier

The carbonation certainly varies, from 1 to 6 (of 10), but the subtleties of the water remain recognisable, as with the still waters. The carbonation does add another element of texture and mouthfeel - and the naturally sparkling waters promise to be very interesting, as they are generally high in minerals and offer a 'taste'.

 

I think that the combination of sparkling waters with wines promises to be very interesting, both with delicate whites and bold reds.

Once again, you can see from the myriad of lines swirling across the page, there is a great variety in the organoleptic experience that different sparkling waters offer. 

Next time - our first wine & water tasting!

Eve to Adam

To first understand what we are working with, I have selected a variety of still and sparkling waters.

When people generally 'taste' water, especially wine specialists, they always tend to look for immediate 'taste' experiences. You'll often hear 'chalky' or 'minerally' used to describe a water. 

This, however, overlooks the subtle and fundamental aspects of water tasting.

Tasting a water in isolation of any other is rather like Adam seeing Eve and determining that there could be no woman more beautiful on Earth. Of course, had he sat through an afternoon of MTV, he would have probably set his sights a little higher.

Once a number of waters are tasted alongside one another, it becomes apparent that there are differentiation factors that should bear relevance to the appreciation of character. These differences are qualities that should be considered in addition to 'taste'.

There is the 'freshness' of the water - how cool is it when the water first hits the tip of your tongue. Is it fairly dull, like tap water, or does it possess a natural 'cooling' sensation that give an immediate sense of refreshment. In addition to this, there is the element of how 'fresh' the water feels when on the palate and when it is swallowed. 

Other considerations are the structure, lightness and softeness of the water. When carefully considered and scored, it becomes quite apparent that there is a great variety in the constitution and 'taste' sensations offered by different waters.

Planning for the tasting

Roberto and Nicolas between them know quite a lot about wine. I, on the other hand, know next to nothing. I am hoping that in this instance, my lack of knowledge on wines will enable me to offer a layman's perspective, which should help gauge how relevant the varying combinations of wine and water to an untrained palate.

We started the first session with the intention of mapping out our taste experiment and determined that the most thorough way to gain an understanding of the water and wine would be to first taste the waters in isolation in order to understand the characters better and then taste the waters alongside a comprehensive list of wines.