Unraveling the release of gaseous CO2 during champagne serving through high-speed infrared imaging

Recent Progress in the Analytical Chemistry of Champagne and Sparkling Wines

The strong interplay between the various parameters at play in a bottle and in a glass of champagne or sparkling wine has been the subject of study for about two decades. After a brief overview of the history of champagne and sparkling wines, this article presents the key steps involved in the traditional method leading to the production of premium modern-day sparkling wines, with a specific focus on quantification of the dissolved CO₂ found in the sealed bottles and in a glass. Moreover, a review of the literature on the various chemical and instrumental approaches used in the analysis of dissolved and gaseous CO₂, effervescence, foam, and volatile organic compounds is reported.

How Does Gas-Phase CO2 Evolve in the Headspace of Champagne Glasses?

The chemical space perceived by a consumer of champagne or other sparkling wines is progressively modified all along tasting. Real-time monitoring of gas-phase CO₂ concentration was performed, through a CO₂-diode laser sensor, along a two-dimensional array of nine points in the headspace of three types of glasses poured with champagne. Two original glasses with distinct headspace volumes were compared with the standard INAO tasting glass. For each of the three glass types, a kind of temperature-dependent CO₂ fingerprint was revealed and discussed as a function of the glass geometry and headspace volume. Moreover, a simple model was developed, which considers the rate of decrease of the concentration of gas-phase CO₂ in the headspace of a glass after the pouring process as being mainly ruled by natural air convection in ambient air. The timescale which controls the rate of decrease of gas-phase CO₂ was found to highly depend on the ratio of the headspace volume to the open aperture of the glass.