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In this review, the latest results about the chemical physics behind the bubbling properties of Champagne and sparkling wines are collected and fully illustrated. The chemistry of carbon dioxide molecules dissolved into the liquid matrix (section 2) is presented, as are the three main steps of a fleeting bubble's life, that is, the bubble nucleation on tiny particles stuck on the glass wall (section 3), the bubble ascent and growth through the liquid matrix (section 4), and the bursting of bubbles at the liquid surface (section 5), which constitutes the most intriguing, functional, and visually appealing step.

In this study, bubble production in a glass of champagne was used as a common tool to illustrate and better understand the nonclassical heterogeneous bubble nucleation from pre-existing gas cavities, referred as type IV nucleation in a recent review article (Jones et al. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 1999, 80, 27-50). Close-ups of nucleation sites were done during the repetitive and clockwork CO2 bubble production process. Then, by using the mass transfer equations suited to the case of rising champagne bubbles, the growth rate (dR/dt) of expanding bubbles during ascent was modeled and connected with the physicochemical parameters of the liquid medium and especially with the supersaturating ratio S of the solution. This theoretical growth rate was found to be in very good accordance with our experimental results. Several bubble trains of the glass wall were "followed", during the gas discharging process, until bubble production stops through lack of dissolved gas. Evidence for a critical rising bubble growth rate below which bubble production stops at a given nucleation site enabled us to deduce indirectly the radius of curvature of the meniscus entrapped into the particle acting as a nucleation site.

The so-called effervescence process, which enlivens champagne and sparkling wines tasting, is the result of the fine interplay between CO(2)-dissolved gas molecules, tiny air pockets trapped within microscopic particles during the pouring process, and some liquid properties. This critical review summarizes recent advances obtained during the past decade concerning the physicochemical processes behind the nucleation, rise, and burst of bubbles found in glasses poured with champagne and sparkling wines. Those phenomena observed in close-up through high-speed photography are often visually appealing. Let's hope that your enjoyment of champagne will be enhanced after reading this fully illustrated review dedicated to the deep beauties of nature often hidden behind many everyday phenomena (51 references).