On the Losses of Dissolved CO₂ during Champagne Serving

Abstract

Pouring champagne into a glass is far from being consequenceless with regard to its dissolved CO(2) concentration. Measurements of losses of dissolved CO(2) during champagne serving were done from a bottled Champagne wine initially holding 11.4 +/- 0.1 g L(-1) of dissolved CO(2). Measurements were done at three champagne temperatures (i.e., 4, 12, and 18 degrees C) and for two different ways of serving (i.e., a champagne-like and a beer-like way of serving). The beer-like way of serving champagne was found to impact its concentration of dissolved CO(2) significantly less. Moreover, the higher the champagne temperature is, the higher its loss of dissolved CO(2) during the pouring process, which finally constitutes the first analytical proof that low temperatures prolong the drink's chill and helps it to retain its effervescence during the pouring process. The diffusion coefficient of CO(2) molecules in champagne and champagne viscosity (both strongly temperature-dependent) are suspected to be the two main parameters responsible for such differences. Besides, a recently developed dynamic-tracking technique using IR thermography was also used in order to visualize the cloud of gaseous CO(2) which flows down from champagne during the pouring process, thus visually confirming the strong influence of champagne temperature on its loss of dissolved CO(2).

Monitoring Gaseous CO2 and Ethanol above Champagne Glasses: Flute versus Coupe, and the Role of Temperature

“…All along the first 15 minutes following pouring, concentrations of gaseous CO 2 found close to the edge of the flute are approximately between two and three times higher than those reached above the coupe. This observation is self-consistent with some recent data about volume fluxes of gaseous CO 2 measurements above glasses poured with champagne, including a flute and a coupe (as seen in the graph displayed in Figure 5 ) [41].…”

“…Moreover, it clearly appears from Figure 4 that the concentration of gaseous CO 2 in the headspace above glasses progressively and quickly decreases as time proceeds. This observation betrays the fact that the dissolved CO 2 content in the liquid phase also quickly decreases as time proceeds - from 7.4 g L −1 after pouring to about 3 g L −1 15 minutes later in the case of the flute, as shown in a previous article [41] - thus decreasing in turn the rate at which gaseous CO 2 escapes from the champagne surface.…”

“…As recently shown in a previous article, the pouring process is far from being inconsequential with regard to the concentration of CO 2 dissolved into the wine [41]. During the several seconds of the pouring process, champagne undergoes highly turbulent and swirling flows.…”

Bubble dynamics in various commercial sparkling bottled waters

“…Turbulences clearly trap tiny air bubbles into the water bulk. Moreover, flow patterns and eddies accompanying pouring certainly force the detachment of bubbles heterogeneously nucleated on the glass wall (Liger-Belair et al, 2010). All those bubbles get in the water bulk to feed the cloud.…”

Thermodynamically Consistent Modeling for Dissolution/Growth of Bubbles in an Incompressible Solvent

“…There is a large literature on experiments and numerical computation of dissolution/growth of bubbles in a liquid, e.g. Liger-Belair et al [10], Sauzade and Cubaud [13], Takemura and Yabe [16]. A rigorous mathematical model is necessary for possible theoretical investigations and mathematical analysis on this topic.…”