What Effects Does Coffee Have On Sparkling Wine?

The effects that coffee has on sparkling wine is an important lesson to learn within the wine industry, like not wearing perfume to a wine tasting, the reason is because it affects your ability to effectively discover the aromas inside a glass of bubbly, this includes the likes of black coffee, as it’s strong aroma takes precedence in the air, it’s like trying to smell the aromas while standing in a kitchen with some very expression foods being cooked, they tend to combine or overpower what’s being released from inside the glass.

Although strong in aroma, coffee can for some, serve as a cleanser of sorts, knocking back any other aromas and focusing the nose on the task at hand, this leads us to the tasting of coffee, when is best to enjoy coffee around sparkling wine, what effects does it have before and after tasting sparkling wine.

One of the best things to do before tasting sparkling wine is to line your stomach with milk, so the likes of a milky tea work wonders, but if you decide to have a coffee before tasting sparkling wine, will your taste buds be influenced, effected or closed off to the experience.

To grab the most accurate results, we must perform the experiment ourselves, and I would recommend that you do the same, so to start with, we’re going to be grinding and brewing a luxurious quality black coffee, I wanted to showcase a true expression of coffee, using top quality products, with freshly ground coffee, with help from Salter Caffé Burr Coffee Grinder, and the coffee beans themselves being supplied fresh from RiSE.

I have to say, I was certainly impressed by the ease of use, the quality and the price point of the Salter Caffé Burr Coffee Grinder, it makes up to 12 cups at once using the cup selector, with a bean capacity of 220g and we can choose from 14 adjustable grinding levels from coarse to fine, helping to fit your brewing style, it’s certainly been an added joy to enjoy freshly ground coffee each morning, helps to start the day off right.

Now it’s time for the thing we love most, to pop open a bottle of bubbly, it’s up to you whether you’d like to go for a Traditional Method Sparkling Wine, with the likes of Champagne or Trento DOC, or go for a Charmat Method Sparkling Wine, with the likes of Prosecco, after pouring yourself a glass of bubbly, take a quick moment to smell the aromas, so you have the baseline in your mind, then place your coffee and sparkling wine right next to each other, and give it a go, first by smelling the sparkling wine with the coffee close by, then by smelling the coffee first, followed by the bubbly.

I partook in this experiment around 11 am, the prime time for tasting sparkling wine, I opened one of the traditional sparkling wines and discovered buttery yellow stone fruits, pastries, toast and more on the aroma, I then proceeded to make my coffee and see if it’s presence would interfere in my tasting experience, the coffee sat on the same table within arms reach.

Result: Although I did smell the faint scent of coffee in the air, as soon as I put my nose to the glass, the wonderful aromas within took full presidency, with no notable interference from the coffee.

Now I’ll try bringing the coffee to my nose and then swapping it out for the glass of bubbly.

Result: This time the coffee makes a lasting expression, it forms what I could describe as a ground coffee barrier around the nose, making it so the sparkling wine’s buttery, yellow fruits and pastry notes are shrouded in a coffee haze, making it difficult to discover the amazing aromas I know this sparkling wine to possess.

Now it’s time to start drinking our Rise Coffee, hopefully, it’s still warm to drink, if not brew yourself another cup. To begin, take a sip from your wine glass and grab your baseline of flavours within, then follow that up by taking a sip of coffee, see how it affects any lasting flavours from the bubbly and if it creates a different effect on the palate, then take another sip of sparkling wine, does it still taste the same, do you only experience the strength of the coffee, or does it not affect it all.

First I’ll taste the sparkling wine, followed by a sip of coffee, the sparkling wine displays similar characteristics to the aroma, but with the extra addition of ultimate smoothness, with melt in your mouth butter, freshly baked brioche, delicately zesty mix of yellow fruits and yellow stone fruits with more in the depth to explore.

Result: The Sparkling Wine, of course, delivers all its flavours in the first sip, after taking a sip of coffee, those flavours take hold of the palate, with only a subtle mouth-watering coolness persisting on the roof of my mouth at the far back, on this particular occasion.

Now try taking a sip of coffee and then a sip of sparkling wine.

Result: The chilled sparkling wine fights the warmth of the coffee, but when it comes to the flavours, they’re lost, I still get the smoothness from this sparkling wine throughout, but other than a fainter yellow zest, the delightful experience that this sparkling wine is destined to deliver is lost to the overpowering expression of coffee.

So there you have it, the effect that coffee has on sparkling wine, I don’t think you’ll have to be too concerned if you stand next to someone at a tasting event enjoying a takeaway coffee or latte, and if you do believe a certain smell is distracting you from the full experience, just take a step back, but when it comes to when to enjoy your coffee in the morning before going to a tasting event or tasting a sparkling wine at home, I’d suggest enjoying your morning brew 30 minutes to an hour before, most tasting events will have water available, so just pour yourself a small glass of water and help cleanse the palate further,