Millions of air bubbles and slight oxygen starvation: the ambiguous properties of champagne (8 photos)

This drink is an essential attribute of any festive feast. And New Year's Eve without a bottle of fizz is a rarity.





It seems that there could be something interesting in champagne? Everything has been known for a long time. But this drink is not so simple.

Almost like a car



The pressure inside the bottle exceeds the pressure in a car wheel and is 6.3 atmospheres. Therefore, the speed of the emerging traffic jam can reach 50 km/h. In case of contact with the eye, forehead or other delicate parts of the body, a visit to the doctor is guaranteed. Therefore, it is better to do without tricks and uncork the bottle calmly and carefully.

The right glass





Champagne is usually served in a tall, narrow glass. Sparkling bubbles are stored in this container for up to one and a half hours. But this is if they serve brut or dry. For sweet and semi-sweet varieties there are glasses called “champagne saucers” in the form of a plate on a leg. The bubbles from them disappear faster, but the taste reveals itself more fully and deeply.

Bubbles as a sign of quality



A million bubbles “live” in one glass. This seems like completely useless information. But this is not so: they are indicators of quality. In truly high-quality champagne, produced according to the standard with additional fermentation in the bottle, the bubbles are tiny and of the same size.

If champagne was made using a more primitive method, then there would be fewer of them and of different sizes. True, some prefer these varieties, since large bubbles help to develop the taste more deeply.

Passion for champagne provokes oxygen deficiency



Champagne intoxicates quickly, but not significantly, providing a feeling of lightness and euphoria. It is achieved due to a mild degree of oxygen starvation. Hypoxia is caused by bubbles of carbon dioxide, which accelerate the absorption of alcohol into the blood. As a result, some of the capillaries are blocked, and oxygen is less well distributed throughout the body.

A couple of sips will give you a headache.



The condition is quite unpleasant, and its cause is precisely those same bubbles. Because of them, the vessels expand very quickly and then return to their original state. Which causes discomfort.

Devilish influence



Before the introduction of bottled secondary fermentation technology, the process began directly in the barrels. And some containers could not stand it and exploded in the basements. In the old days, people still could not explain these processes from a scientific point of view, so they attributed the explosions to the machinations of diabolical forces.

Hussar prowess



The most chic thing for the hussars was to open a bottle with a saber. The neck had to be cut quickly and cleanly so that not a single fragment could get inside. Sabrage is the name of the action (from the French sabre - “bottle”). What explains the practice - a desire to demonstrate skill or banal laziness due to reluctance to waste time on uncorking - is unknown.