INFLUENCE OF PROTEINS ON THE FOAM BEHAVIO R OF CHAMPAGNE WINES

A non-bottled fermented Champagne while wine is divided into fractions by ultrafiltration. From these fractions, wines with controlled prote in content are prepared. Foam properties of these various wines are st udied using sparging procedures (Rudin foam tube-like). Except for a s ample which does not contain macromolecules with a molecular weight of 10,000, foamability remains quite similar during the first phase of f oam formation. Secondly, maximal foam height is correlated with an inc rease in protein content as well as is the foam height during stationn ary phase (when foam formation and foam destruction are balanced). Fin ally, small decreases of the protein content in the medium are able to decrease very significantly the foam behaviour. Unlike beer, protein and macromolecules contents should be considered as very limiting fact ors of the foam quantity.