terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 TOWARDS THE SHELF-LIFE PREDICTION OF OLD CHAMPAGNE VINTAGES DEPENDING ON THE BOTTLE CAPACITY

TOWARDS THE SHELF-LIFE PREDICTION OF OLD CHAMPAGNE VINTAGES DEPENDING ON THE BOTTLE CAPACITY

Abstract

Today, nearly one billion bottles of different sizes and capacities are aging in Champagne cellars while waiting to be put on the market. Among them, several tens of thousands of prestigious cuvees elaborated prior the 2000s are potentially concerned by prolonged aging on lees. However, when it comes to champagne tasting, dissolved CO₂ is a key compound responsible for the very much sought-after effervescence in glasses [1]. Yet, the slow decrease of dissolved CO₂ during prolonged aging of the most pres-tigious cuvees raises the issue of how long a champagne can age before it becomes unable to form CO₂ bubbles during tasting [2].

Measurements of dissolved CO₂ concentrations were done on a collection of 13 successive champagne vintages, stored in standard 75 cL bottles and 150 cL magnums, showing prolonged aging on lees ranging from 25 to 47 years. The vintages elaborated in magnums were found to retain their dissolved CO₂ much more efficiently during prolonged aging than the same vintages elaborated in standard bottles. A multi-variable exponential decay-type model was proposed for the theoretical time-dependent concentration of dissolved CO₂ and the subsequent CO₂ pressure in the sealed bottles during champagne aging. The CO₂ mass transfer coefficients through the crown caps used to seal champagne bottle prior the 2000s was thus approached in situ, with a global average value m3 s-1 [3]. Moreover, the shelf-life of a champagne bottle was examined in view of its ability to still produce CO₂ bubbles in a tasting glass. A formula was proposed to estimate the shelf-life of a bottle having experienced prolonged aging on lees, which combines the various relevant parameters at play, including the geometric parameters of the bottle [3]. Increasing the bottle size is found to tremendously increase its capacity to preserve dissolved CO₂ and therefore the bubbling capacity of champagne during tasting.

 

1. G. Liger-Belair, Effervescence in champagne and sparkling wines: From grape harvest to bubble rise. Eur. Phys. J Special Topics, 226, 3-116, 2017
2. G. Liger-Belair, D. Carvajal-Pérez, C. Cilindre, J. Facque, M. Brevot, F. Litoux-Desrues, V. Chaperon, R. Geoffroy, Evidence for moderate losses of dissolved CO₂ during aging on lees of a champagne prestige cuvee. J. Food Engineering, 233, 40-48, 2018
3. G. Liger-Belair, C. Khenniche, C. Poteau, C. Bailleul, V. Thollin, C. Cilindre, Losses of yeast-fermented carbon dioxide during prolonged champagne aging: Yes, the bottle size does matter! submitted, 2023

DOI:

Publication date: February 9, 2024

Issue: OENO Macrowine 2023

Type: Poster

Authors

Gérard Liger-Belair¹, Chloé Khenniche1,2, Clara Poteau², Carine Bailleul², Virginie Thollin³, Clara Cilindre¹

1. GSMA, UMR CNRS 7331, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51697 Reims, France
2. Champagne Castelnau – 5, Rue Gosset, 51100 Reims, France
3. PE.DI France – 2, Avenue de New York, 51530 Pierry, France

Contact the author*

Keywords

Carbone dioxide, Champagne, Aging on lees, Effervescence

Tags

IVES Conference Series | oeno macrowine 2023 | oeno-macrowine

Citation

Related articles…

NEW TREATMENTS FOR TEMPRANILLO WINES BY USING CABERNET SAUVIGNON VINE-SHOOTS AND MICRO-OXYGENATION

Toasted vine-shoots as enological additive represents a promising topic due to their significant effect on wine profile. However, the use of this new enological tool with SEGs varieties different than wine and combined with others winemaking technologies, such as micro-oxygenation (MOX), has not been studied so far, despite this combination could result in wine with high chemical and organoleptic quality.

ABOUT THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE DIFFERENT POLYPHENOLS ON OXYGEN CONSUMPTION AND ON THE ACCUMULATION OF ACETALDEHYDE ANDSTRECKER ALDEHYDES DURING WINE OXIDATION

In a previous work1, it was suggested that the different contents in delphinidin and catechin of the grapes were determinant on the O2 consumption and Strecker aldehyde (SAs) accumulation rates. Higher delphinidin seemed to be related to a faster O2 consumption and a smaller SAs accumulation rate, and the opposite was observed regarding catechin.
In the present paper, these observations were fully corroborated by adding synthetic delphinidin to a wine model containing polyphenolic fractions (PFs) extracted from garnacha and synthetic catechin to a wine model containing PF extracted from tempranillo: The delphinin-containing garnacha model consumed O₂ significantly faster and accumulated significantly smaller amounts of SAs than the original garnacha model, and the catechin-containing tempranillo model, consumed O2 significantly slower and accumulated significantly higher amounts of SAs than the original tempranillo model.

THE INFLUENCE OF COMMERCIAL SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE ON THE POLY-SACCHARIDES AND OTHER CHEMICAL PROFILES OF NEW ZEALAND PINOT NOIR WINES

Wine polysaccharides (PS) play an important role in balancing mouthfeel and stability of wine and even influence aroma volatility. Despite this, there is limited research into the effect of winemaking additives on the polysaccharide profile and other macromolecules of New Zealand (NZ) Pinot noir wine. In this study the influence of a selection of commercial S. cerevisiae strains on the chemical profile, including polysaccharides, of New Zealand Pinot noir (PN) wine was investigated. Research scale PN fermentations using five strains of commercially available S. cerevisiae (Lalvin EC1118 and RC212, Levuline BRG YSEO, Viallate Ferm R71 and R82) were undertaken. PS were qualified and quantified using HPLC-RID.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE VOLATILE COMPOUNDS PROFILE OF COMMERCIAL GRAPPAS OBTAINED FROM THE POMACE OF AMARONE WINES

Grappa is a traditional Italian alcoholic beverage, with an alcohol content generally between 40-60% vol., obtained from the distillation of grape pomace used for the production of wine. Grappa are often aged in wooden barrels. There are various types of grappa: young, aromatic, aged, extra-aged depending on whether the distillate comes from aromatic vines or is aged in wooden barrels for shorter or longer periods. There is also flavored grappa if herbs, fruit or roots are added. All this makes it an extremely heterogeneous product both from an organoleptic and compositional point of view.

EXPLORING THE METABOLIC AND PHENOTYPIC DIVERSITY OF INDIGENOUS YEASTS ISOLATED FROM GREEK WINE

Climate change leads to even more hostile and stressful for the wine microorganism conditions and consequently issues with fermentation rate progression and off-character formation are frequently observed. The objective of the current research was to classify a great collection of yeast isolates from Greek wines based on their technological properties with oenological interest. Towards this direction, fourteen spontaneously fermented wines from different regions of Greece were collected for further yeast typing. The yeast isolates were subjected in molecular analyses and identification at species level.