French physicists at the Université de Reims have studied the best way to pour champagne; their surprising discovery is that it should be poured into a tilted long-stemmed glass rather than into an upright one. The goal is to retain as much dissolved carbon dioxide as possible in the decanted liquid:
They used infrared thermography (left illustration) to document the escape of carbon dioxide from the glass, and measured the dissolved carbon dioxide in the champagne (right illustration) over time and at different temperatures. The results are discussed in their publication in the ACS Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, where there are detailed photographs of bubble formation and a mathematical analysis of the degassing process.
Link, via Physics Buzz.
In champagne and sparkling wine tasting, the concentration of dissolved CO2 is a parameter of great importance since it directly impacts the four following sensory properties: (i) the frequency of bubble formation in the glass, (ii) the growth rate of rising bubbles, (iii) the mouth feel, i.e., the mechanical action of collapsing bubbles as well as the chemosensory excitation of nociceptors in the oral cavity (via the conversion of dissolved CO2 to carbonic acid), (iv) and the nose of champagne, i.e., its so-called bouquet...
They used infrared thermography (left illustration) to document the escape of carbon dioxide from the glass, and measured the dissolved carbon dioxide in the champagne (right illustration) over time and at different temperatures. The results are discussed in their publication in the ACS Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, where there are detailed photographs of bubble formation and a mathematical analysis of the degassing process.
Link, via Physics Buzz.
It should be poured the way champagne is traditionally poured - into a non-tilted (clean) glass. Beer is meant to lose some carbonation on pouring and then one has the benefit of a fantastic "collar" of foam, or head.
And then you have the flat open champagne coupe, modeled after Madame de Pompadour's breast, Louis XV mistress. That's why I'll always prefer coupes rather than flutes ;)
You have failed me for the last time, physics.