In 2009, a team of researchers from the University of Reims, in France, and the Neuherberg Institute for Ecological Chemistry and Molecular Biogeochemistry, in Germany, published a study in the journal PNAS in which they claimed that bubbles play a decisive role in flavor. of champagne . In fact, after carrying out an analysis using high resolution mass spectrometry, they found that they contained 30 times more aromatic compounds than the liquid itself . The finding seemed to disprove a well-established belief that the bubbles only provided a pleasant tingling sensation and an acid touch to the drink.
Now, physicists Gérard Liger-Belair, who participated in the aforementioned trial, and Thomas Séon, from the French National Center for Scientific Research, have presented a more detailed analysis of the role that gas plays in the making and taste of champagne and other sparkling wines. As explained in the European Physical Journal Special Topics , although it has traditionally been held that liquids with smaller bubbles are the best quality, in reality, the larger ones, about 3.4 millimeters in diameter, improve their flavor , as they favor the release of those same aromatic compounds.
Scientists also suggest that this phenomenon not only depends on the production process, but that different neurophysical and chemical mechanisms intervene in it, which must also be taken into account. For example, they recommend drinking champagne very cold – apparently, this prevents alcohol from masking the taste of the drink – and in narrow glasses, since they increase the density of the bubbles, which also helps to improve the experience.
