Why does Sparkling Wine Sparkle? Amidst the steady hum of wine bar chatter I have heard a variety of curiosities and questions at a variety of volumes. One question in particular attracted my notice over the weekend so I thought I would investigate further: where are those little bubbles coming from and why do the little suckers go away? Effervescence has been observed in wine throughout history, but it has only been relatively recently that the little ebullient buddies are not being explained by the phases of the moon or evil spirits. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the then unknown process of fermentation and carbonic gas caused some critics to call the sparkling creations “The Devils Wine”. It is anything but evil today, being considered some of the most elegant and sought after beauties in the wine world. Okey Doke, so the simplest way to discuss the chemical process that creates carbonation is in two distinct phases, Primary and Secondary Fermentation. Basically you add sugar and high pressure a couple of different times and Voila, Bubbles! Of course it is more complicated than that but for our intensive purposes, lets just stop here. There are three time honored methods to achieve the fermentations, Methode Champenoise (the oldest and most time-consuming), The Tank Method (also called Charmat or Cuve Close) and The Bicycle Pump Method. Another interesting thing to know is that there is a plausible explanation to the vagaries and complexity of the “Bubble Patterns” as they come through the champagne. The CO2 bubbles arise out of nucleation points on the glass (defect points). Little vibrating pockets of CO2 collect in these defects until a small “bubble” takes the shape of a pocket of shivering gas. Bubbles always start in pairs and gradually differentiate into what we have all seen as the fracas of a glass of good sparkling. Well, that may have been too much on the bubble patterns, but I thought it was fascinating! Come on down and uncork a bottle with us today! Joel
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Why does Sparkling Wine Sparkle?
Amidst the steady hum of wine bar chatter I have heard a variety of curiosities and questions at a variety of volumes. One question in particular attracted my notice over the weekend so I thought I would investigate further: where are those little bubbles coming from and why do the little suckers go away? Effervescence has been observed in wine throughout history, but it has only been relatively recently that the little ebullient buddies are not being explained by the phases of the moon or evil spirits. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the then unknown process of fermentation and carbonic gas caused some critics to call the sparkling creations “The Devils Wine”. It is anything but evil today, being considered some of the most elegant and sought after beauties in the wine world.
Okey Doke, so the simplest way to discuss the chemical process that creates carbonation is in two distinct phases, Primary and Secondary Fermentation. Basically you add sugar and high pressure a couple of different times and Voila, Bubbles! Of course it is more complicated than that but for our intensive purposes, lets just stop here. There are three time honored methods to achieve the fermentations, Methode Champenoise (the oldest and most time-consuming), The Tank Method (also called Charmat or Cuve Close) and The Bicycle Pump Method.
Another interesting thing to know is that there is a plausible explanation to the vagaries and complexity of the “Bubble Patterns” as they come through the champagne. The CO2 bubbles arise out of nucleation points on the glass (defect points). Little vibrating pockets of CO2 collect in these defects until a small “bubble” takes the shape of a pocket of shivering gas. Bubbles always start in pairs and gradually differentiate into what we have all seen as the fracas of a glass of good sparkling. Well, that may have been too much on the bubble patterns, but I thought it was fascinating! Come on down and uncork a bottle with us today!
Joel
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