Photo: Ari Roberts / Pexels
Champagne wine is a sparkling, bubbly wine, but it is not just any wine with bubbles. Champagne is a fizzy wine. “Effervescence is the hallmark of Champagne wines, their touch of magic. It is also the expression of its quality ”, points out the Champagne Committee.
The way in which champagne is served also influences the process of effervescence, as well as the cork and the time that the bottle.
Champagne wines are produced, harvested and made entirely in the delimited area of Champagne in France. The grape with which Champagne wines are made has unique characteristics in the world, of a specific geography, soil and climate.
In addition to taste, bubbles are also extremely important for the appreciation of the drinker. The effervescence supports the qualities of the wine, accentuates its sensory characteristics.
If dumped 100 milliliters (approximately 3.4 fluid ounces) of champagne directly into a vertical flute, it is estimated that the glass will hold about a million bubbles , according to the chemical physicist Gérard Liger-Belair from the “Effervescence & Champagne” team at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne who study bubbles in champagne.
Sparkling wines (unlike still wines) are saturated with carbon dioxide gas molecules , which makes them bubbly.
Gas is held for at least 70 years
Knowable Magazine shares which Liger team -Belair has discovered that a good cork ma nYou will have gas in a bottle of champagne for at least 70 years; after that, the drink will be “disappointingly flat.”
Bubbles, foam and fizz
The term bubbly, qualifies the firecracker of the bubbles on the surface and the foam that is an inert matter that is formed. Effervescence is the whole process.
The effervescence of champagne is a phenomenon that the producers of Champagne knew how to observe, control and appropriate. It has historical, technical, scientific and sensory specificities.
The phenomenon of effervescence
When the bottle is opened
The Champagne Committee explains that during its opening, with atmospheric pressure, the carbonic gas in the wine turns into a gaseous state. At the moment of removal of the cap, the compressed gas in the neck escapes , for this reason a slight explosion. The rest of the gas in the wine escapes progressively.
When pouring the wine
The impact of the champagne at the bottom of the glass traps air bubbles, to which the carbonic gas diffuses into the wine. The bubbles enlarge, forming the foam of the first pour; these bubbles disappear fast.
A smoother “beer pour” down the side a glass will increase the bubbles , according to Liger-Belair.
Bubble formation
Once the wine rests in the glass, new bubbles are formed from particles present on the wall of the glass or suspended in the wine, or also by irregularities on the surface of the glass.
The rough spots inside a glass can also help to nuclear the bubbles ; Some glassmakers engrave shapes on the inside of glasses to facilitate this process, Liger-Belair says.
Bubble trains
The Champagne Committee indicates that from the same place of departure they leave until 50 bubbles per second. This unbroken row forms a “train of bubbles ”Between the microcavity and the surface of the wine.
The rise of the bubbles
During its ascent, the bubbles are charged with gas and enlarge. On the surface, the bubbles may disappear by deflating or by thinning and breaking of the wine film.
How champagne is made
The traditional method of making champagne involves fermenting the drink twice. The first fermentation produces a base wine, which is complemented with cane or beet sugar and yeast.
In the second fermentation, the wine rests for at least 15 months for the yeast cells, now dead, can modify the taste of the wine. That dead yeast is removed… The wine is corked again, sometimes with additional sugars ”, it is explained in Knowable Magazine.
The carbon dioxide dissolved in the wine is trapped in the bottle from the second fermentation . The space between the air gap and the liquid in the bottle determines the final amount of dissolved carbon dioxide.
It may interest you:
– How to choose the best drink for the Christmas and New Years holidays, according to an expert
– Wine without alcohol can offer you the same benefits and without the effects negative than traditional drink
– What is the most popular wine in California and in general in the United States