All right, more bottles of Champagne are popped
during the holiday season than at
any other time of the year.
French law states that grapes
from the region of Champagne must
be used for a bottle of sparkling
wine to be called champagne.
But from a chemical perspective,
champagne obeys another law: Henry’s law.
This law says that the pressure
of a gas above a solution is
proportional to the concentration
of the gas in the solution.
Carbon dioxide gas is at the heart of
Champagne’s famous bubbly character.
In an unopened bottle of champagne,
carbon dioxide dissolved in the wine
is in balance – or equilibrium – with
gas in the space between
the cork and the liquid.
Uncorking releases the gas
and throws off the equilibrium.
According to Henry's law,
the dissolved carbon dioxide
leaves the champagne via bubbles,
which reestablishes the equilibrium.
Champagne makes its gas naturally during fermentation.
During this process, yeast gobble up
sugar molecules called glucose
and fructose in grape juice,
converting them into carbon
dioxide and ethanol — the type of
alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.
Unlike other wines, champagne undergoes
a second fermented in the bottle to
trap carbon dioxide gas, which dissolves
into the wine and forms bubbles.
Legend tells us that a French monk
named Dom Pierre Pérignon discovered
champagne in the mid-1600s.
In Perignon’s era, winemakers had a
tough time with that second fermentation.
Some bottles wound up with no bubbles at all.
Others got too much carbon dioxide,
and exploded under the enormous pressure.
And well, no one wants that.
More than 600 different chemical compounds
join carbon dioxide in champagne, each
lending its own unique quality to the
aroma and flavor of a glass of bubbly.
But even with all that flavor,
champagne would be just another
white wine without those tiny bubbles.
As the bubbles ascend the length of
a glass in tiny trains, they drag along
molecules of flavor and aroma,
which explode out of the surface,
tickling the nose and stimulating the senses.
The bubbly surface of champagne
is also a feast for the eyes,
especially under a microscope.
When an exploding bubble deforms its neighbors,
gorgeous “flower-shaped” structures
blossom and disappear in the blink of an eye.
So what’s the best way to pour a glass of
bubbly and maximize the sensory experience?
A study published in the American
Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry answered that question:
Pouring champagne on an angle preserves up to
twice the carbon dioxide bubbles when compared
to pouring down the middle of the glass.
So pop some bottles of bubbly and enjoy
what’s left of the rest of the year.
As you’re drinking be sure to check out
some of our other videos such as
How Breathalyzers Work or Sexy Chemistry.
While you’re at it,
bring in the New Year’s
with hitting that subscribe button.
Happy Holiday’s from us here at Reactions!