The effervescence of a bubble of Champagne or sparkling wine is not only an aesthetic or sonic pleasure, but also a scientific marvel that embodies the extraordinary complexity of fluid mechanics in a few centiliters of wine. It will be discussed on October 26 in Asti, from 10:00 to 16:30 at the headquarters of ONAV Nazionale (Piazza Santa Maria Nuova, 5) on the occasion of “A World of Bubbles ”, a one-of-a-kind seminar, which for the first time in Italy will host the physicist Gérard Liger – Belair, researcher at the University of Reims, the capital of Champagne. It will be a real journey into physics, chemistry and oenology to discover how bubbles are formed, what role they play in the organoleptic characteristics of a wine and what influences them; a rigorous approach to a theme considered by most to be purely hedonistic, very dear to ONAV, which since its foundation has promoted knowledge of wine through solid scientific bases.
The meeting will allow us to understand the movement of bubbles and the mechanisms they induce during tasting, discovering the stages that mark their existence, from formation to disappearance. We will understand whether the type of cork in the stopper influences their formation, whether they have an effect on the flavor of the drink, how aromas spread in the air and much more. With his team of researchers, Gérard Liger-Belair has been studying for over twenty years the physical and chemical processes that cause the formation, rising in the glass and bursting of bubbles in champagne and sparkling wines.
The course features three modules : “The Odyssey of a Champagne Bubble”, “Effervescence in Champagne: A Centuries-Old Story” and “The Crucial Role of Crown Corks in Secondary Sparkling Wine”, and will alternate theoretical lessons with tastings of three Champagnes: Bulles de craie Brut SA, Clos Cazals 2013, Clos Cazals 2003, all from the Champagne Cazals cellar.
In addition to the lecture by Professor Liger – Belair, there will be contributions by Daniela Guiducci, co-translator into Italian of the latest volume by Professor Liger-Belair, and Virginie Thollin, a Champagne oenologist.
