8 SPACE CHAMPAGNE

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COMPANY DESIGNS CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE FOR SPACE CELEBRATIONS

French champagne company G.H. Mumm has invested a lot of time and resources into developing a futuristic champagne bottle that can be used in space.

The Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar is the first champagne designed specifically for space travel. It comes in a special half-glass bottle and features a newly-designed stainless steel opening/closing device that curves around the classic cork. The unique bottle features a finger-controlled valve which, when operated, releases a champagne sphere. Astronauts or space tourists can then scoop the drink out of the air, using special glasses that resemble tiny egg cups.

“This project is, of course, very stimulating because of its high-tech nature and its 100 percent French identity, from design to manufacturing,” designer Octave de Gaulle said. “But it is also very exciting because technology serves a greater purpose here: champagne brings back the memory of a place and a climate and of French savoir-faire and tastes for all those who will live far from Earth.”

Regular champagne bottles are not really fit for zero gravity. The champagne itself reacts differently under space conditions, because the bubbles do not rise to the surface. So, they do not release their aroma molecules as they do on Earth, thus changing the smell and first impression of the drink. In 2017, when the idea of commercial space travel started to become possible, G.H. Mumm decided to tackle all these issues.

After five years of research and collaborations with CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), the French government space agency, and with privately-funded American space company Axiom Space, the French champagne maker recently unveiled their Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar.

“Imagine a crew in their capsule on their way to Mars for five months, whose members have not seen a fruit or vegetable since their departure and no longer in direct voice contact with Earth. They are confined to one or two rooms, sleep in sleeping bags hung on a wall. And one day, it is the birthday of one of them, or it is Christmas. How to mark this moment?” Octave de Gaulle asked. “With the champagne that we have developed, they will have a moment of happiness and humanity. It is not about drinking and drunkenness, but it is about recreating, up there, a favorite ceremony that we know on Earth.”

Apart from the futuristic bottle that comes in a protective shell, made of aircraft-grade aluminum, G.H. Mumm also created a very special champagne designed for enjoyment in zero gravity. The company’s chief winemaker, Laurent Fresnet, aged the space wine in oak barrels and then kept the finished champagne bottles on their sides for five years.

The result of Fresnet’s work is a bolder and spicier champagne with more aroma and acidity than the version of Mumm Cordon Rouge designed for earthly consumption. However, it is worth keeping in mind that these intense aromas and flavors will feel much less intense when experienced in outer space.

G.H Mumm has not currently put a price on its innovative Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar champagne, but unless you’re planning to travel into outer space anytime soon, you really should not buy it because it is designed for consumption in zero gravity, only.