The science of CHAMPAGNE: 20 million tiny bubbles help give the tipple its distinctive peachy and metallic aroma
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As the clock strikes midnight around the world on New Year's Eve, countless bottles of champagne will be popped to see in another year.
But there is more to the distinctive drink than meets the eye - with each glass releasing approximately 20 million tiny bubbles.
As well as giving champagne its fizz, the bubbles contribute to the tipple's distinctive taste and aroma, with chemical compounds making it smell simultaneously peachy and sweet, floral, metallic, toasty and waxy.
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As well as giving champagne its fizz, bubbles also give the tipple its distinctive taste, with chemical compounds making it taste simultaneously peachy and sweet, floral, metallic, toasty and waxy (shown above in the infographic created by chemistry teacher Andy Brunning
A chemistry teacher has created an infographic explaining how the bubbles, and different chemical compounds, create the unique taste of champagne.
Bournemouth-based Andy Brunning, who writes the blog Compound Interest, explained that the drink is unusual among wines because it undergoes two fermentations - one before bottling, and one in the bottle.
Champagne makes its gas naturally during fermentation. During this process, yeast consumes sugars in the grape juice, converting them into ethanol and carbon dioxide, which makes the bubbles.
Each glass of champagne releases approximately 20 million tiny bubbles, which are created during the fermentation process, when yeast consumes sugars in the grape juice, converting them into ethanol and carbon dioxide. A bottle of champagne typically releases around five litres of gas
An average 0.75 litre bottle of champagne contains 7.5 grams of dissolved carbon dioxide, which if allowed to go flat, would release around five litres of the gas.
This equates to 20 million bubbles in a small glass.
Only 20 per cent of the carbon dioxide in champagne escapes from a bottle in the form of bubbles, with the remaining 80 per cent being released through direct diffusion.
This is when the gas moves from the more concentrated regions to those that are less concentrated.
Studies have shown that the bubbles contribute to the flavour and aroma of champagne, because they pull compounds in the wine with them as they rise.
More than 600 chemical compounds are found in the bubbles of champagne.
'When they reach the surface and burst, these compounds can be thrown into the air within tiny liquid droplets,' Mr Brunning wrote.
Scientists have analysed the composition of these exploding droplets under the microscope, to discover a number of chemical compounds in the droplets that give the drink its taste and smell.
For example, gamma-decalactone gives the tipple its fruity, peachy and sweet aroma, while methyl dihydrojasmonate adds floral notes and Dodecanoic acid contributes a metallic tang.
Decanoic acid is responsible for acidic and toasty aromas, while ethyl myristate adds a smell of waxiness, according to Mr Brunning's infographic.
These are just some of the hundreds of components present, some of which have yet to be identified.
Interestingly, the composition of the droplets differs from the main body of champagne.
'This is due to the fact that only certain molecules are pulled up to the surface by the bubbles, influencing the droplet composition,' Mr Brunning added.
A previous study revealed that the warmer a bottle of champagne is, the faster its cork will travel when it's popped. This can range from25mph (40km/h) when the bottle is kept at 4°C up to 34mph (54km/h) when its temperature reaches 18°C
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