On the eve of a new year, when the champagne is flowing freely, impress your friends with these chemistry-based facts about the drink in your hand:

► Champagne is best poured down the side of a glass held at a 45° angle, like serving beer. This results in less foaming and turbulence, both of which increase the rate of CO₂ loss. Reducing the rate of CO₂ loss helps preserve the sparkle (at least as long as the champagne lasts). ^{Bubble Trouble}

► Champagne should always be served chilled. The ideal temperature is 6 – 8 °C (43 – 46 °F). At higher temperatures, more CO₂ is lost during pouring, while at lower temperatures, the aroma fails to develop and part of the pleasure is lost. ^{Sparkling Wine, Champagne & Co – Part 2}

► Champagne bubbles can not form spontaneously under homogeneous conditions. They require a surface with imperfections such as dust particles or deliberate roughening of the glass to allow the initial microbubble to form. ^{Sparkling Wine, Champagne & Co – Part 3}

► The highly prized, long-enduring tickling of the tongue that champagne is known for is only in part due to the bursting of CO₂ bubbles on the coarse surface of the tongue. In addition, soluble CO₂ penetrates into the tongue’s deeper tissue layers. There, with the help of carboanhydrase, it is converted to carbonic acid and its dissociation products. These activate a receptor that initiates a nerve impulse, and this is processed into the tickling sensation. ^{Sparkling Wine, Champagne & Co – Part 3}

► The white fog or smoke that appears as a champagne bottle is opened is condensed water from the atmosphere. It results from the pressure/volume work associated with the change in pressure between the sealed bottle (approx. 5 atm) and the open one. The associated cooling is sufficient to condense or even freeze water from the surroundings. ^{Sparkling Wine, Champagne & Co – Part 2}

► Champagne is required to spend at least fifteen months aging on its lees after the initial three-week fermentation period. For vintage Champagne this is a full three years. As a result of this long aging period, the cellars of Champagne producers are currently estimated to house 1.5 billion bottles. ^{Sparkling Wine, Champagne & Co – Part 1}

Image: © Hinnerk Rümenapf, Hamburg, http://ruemenapf.de