An electronic “wine tasting” tongue is being developed by researchers at the Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona, Spain. The new device mimics the human tongue and has been developed to identify different types of the country’s sparkling wine Cava.

Initially the electronic tongue will be used to detect flaws in the production process, but it is also able to precisely quantify the amount of sugar added after the wines secondary fermentation.

It is this that will enable classification of Cava wines from the driest Brut Nature at less than three grams of sugar per litre to the sweeter versions at more than 50 grams per litre.

However, the lead scientist on the project says sommeliers need not worry too much about losing their jobs because the electronic tongue is more suited to automated testing on a winery’s production floor and cannot distinguish the various nuances in the wine. Cava is a sparkling wine from Spain of Denominación de Origen status, most of which is produced in Catalonia.

The most common grape varieties used to produce it are Macabeu, Parellada and Xarello and it can be white or rosé.

Only wines produced in the traditional method (equivilent to the French méthode champenoise) may be labelled Cavas, those produced by other processes may only be called Vinos Espumosos (sparkling wines).

About 95 per cent of all Cava is produced in the Penedès area in Catalonia.

In the past, Cava was often referred to as Spanish champagne, which is no longer permitted under EU law.

Today, it is defined by law as a Vino Espumoso de Calidad Producido en una Región Determinada, meaning “quality sparkling wine produced in a designated region”.