On an upcoming mission by Axiom Space – which offers private spaceflights for “astronaut clients” – the shuttle will carry more than just space explorers. An unexpected shuttle mate will join the crew: guts champagne. Based in Reims, France, the company has decided to send its famous elixir, which symbolizes celebration and the art of living, into space. According to the head of Axiom Space, Mumm Bubbly could be on board from 2023. By Travel + Leisure
You might be wondering what champagne tastes like when it’s sent into space? Astronauts should be warned: the famous “pop” you hear when you open the bottle will be less pronounced than on Earth, outlines Octave De Gaulle, founder of agency SPADE, which designs space objects.
This company sends champagne into space
Along with the other actors involved in this futuristic project, including the French Center National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the young designer presented the bottle that will be on board manned space flights and eventually on the Axiom commercial space station. Elegantly encased in an aluminum sleeve, the bottle is actually half a glass bottle secured by a stainless steel opening and closing device.
Most notably, the bottle features a long neck ending with a cork and ring designed to withstand the constraints of space travel. To fill this specially designed bottle, which can be used again and again, Mumm used its legendary Cordon Rouge champagne, with some modifications to adapt it to zero-gravity tastings.
In space, the sense of smell is altered, taste sensations are different and, above all, the bubbles no longer rise to the surface. Instead, a frothy foam comes into contact with the lips and mouth. In order for the room tasting to be a success, cellar master Laurent Fresnet enhances the complexity as well as the intensity and fruitiness of the champagne. To do this, he opted for a champagne that had been aged in the cellar for five years, while the same champagne is usually only aged for three years.
The liqueur de dosage, which is used to more or less regulate the sweetness of the champagne, was aged in oak barrels to introduce vanilla aromas. So how does champagne taste in space? At Mumm it’s a bubbly wine with aromas of bush peach, ripe yellow fruit and hazelnut.
This story was published via AFP Relaxnews
Main and Main Image Credit: Photography courtesy of Stellar©
See also: Hilton builds astronaut hotel rooms in space
