THE cork stopper was born with the Champagne at the beginning of the 18th century at the same time as the process of champagnisation. We owe the discovery of the elastic properties of cork stopper to a Benedictine monk: Dom Pérignon. The wooden stoppers covered with oiled hemp leaves were then replaced by cork stoppers capable of withstanding strong pressure without popping. In fact, the champagne cork must be able to withstand very high pressure: the equivalent of three times the pressure of a tire. Since then, all winemakers around the world use cork as the only material for making these stoppers. During its manufacture, the champagne cork is cylindrical in shape: it will take on its famous mushroom shape when it is bottled, during which it is compressed into the neck of the bottle and then crushed into a mushroom shape to be able to affix the muzzle made up of a metal "cage" of efr and a capsule generally bearing the name of the producer or decorated with the brand of the champagne house .
HOW FAST DOES A CHAMPAGNE CORK POP?
Now that's a particularly interesting question! To answer it, many scientists have looked into the matter. The result? At serving temperature, that is to say between 8 and 10 degrees , a bottle of champagne is capable of propelling its cork stopper at 40 km/h. Obviously, some clever performance enthusiasts tried to beat this record...and they succeeded! By leaving the bottle in the sun, a pressure of up to 3.5 bars can be reached (compared to the usual 2.5-3 bars) and thus being able to expel the champagne cork at almost 80 km/h.
HOW TO RECORK A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE?
You drank two glasses of champagne and you want to put the bottle back in the fridge while preserving its magical bubbles and flavor? There are many techniques to prevent a bottle from going stale bottle of champagne : silver spoon in the neck, cling film with a rubber band,... and know that none of these techniques work! champagne bubbles are the result of alcoholic fermentation which transforms sugar into alcohol under the action of yeasts. And as this reaction occurs at the heart of the bottle of champagne The trapped CO2 cannot escape. Unfortunately, as soon as it is opened, the trapped gas escapes and over the hours the champagne loses its flavor! To save the bubbles no miracle: nothing like a real airtight champagne cork!