Put away your spoons the proof
True or false ? A spoon keeps the champagne bubbles
A champagne loses its bubbles in the hours following the opening of the bottle. To remedy this, it is said that it would suffice to keep the bottle in the refrigerator, with a small spoon placed in the neck. This system D would retain the CO2 provided that the spoon is silver ...
A persistent blur
Regularly, amateur oenologists have tried to verify this belief, but never with sufficient rigor. Result: a persistent blur, benefiting from this belief, which has spread from evening to evening. Unfortunately, this miracle method is only a myth, invalidated in 1995 by the physico-chemical team of the Interprofessional Center for Champagne Wines. Deciding to find out, the researchers therefore partially emptied the bottles ... to study the bubbles.
For this, several bottles of the same cuvée were uncorked simultaneously, then emptied of 250 or 500 ml of champagne. These bottles were then separated into 4 lots: some were equipped with small spoons, others with stoppers, others with caps and, finally, the last were left in the open air. After standing times of 24, 48, and 72 hours, the test continued with pressure and weight measurements, and tastings. The verdict is final: the little spoons in the neck are useless !
CHAMPAGNE WEIGHT LOSS AT DIFFERENT STAGES
Sealing system After 24 hours After 48 hours After 72 hours
Nothing : 0,8 g 1,2 g 1,9 g
Little spoon : 0,8 g 1,1 g 1,8 g
Stopper : 0 g 0 g 0 g
The results of the CIVC study. The weight loss corresponds to the evaporation of CO2, the responsible for the bubbles.
The only solution: an airtight cap
So how do you store an already opened bottle ? Protect it from light and in a cool place or place little subject to temperature variations. And crimp it with a special cap which allows it to be kept for several hours. By making the bottle airtight, it alone prevents the gas from escaping. And the precious bubbles to escape ...
