A German scientist has managed to register the speed of a Champagne cork as it leaves the bottle.
Friedrich Balck of Clausethal Technical University in northwest Germany found that a vigorously shaken bottle of Champagne, with a pressure of 2.5 bars, expelled its cork at 40 kilometres per hour (km/h) – 24.8 miles per hour.
The pressure inside a Champagne bottle is around three times that of a car tyre.
According to Swiss newspaper Le Matin, Balck measured the speed of the cork using photoelectrical and accoustic equipment, as well as measuring its impact on a sheet of paper.
The German boffin also said that Champagne corks could theoretically reach 100km/h (62 miles per hour). This would require 3 bars of pressure, achieved if the bottle was not shaken but left in the sun prior to opening.
One bar is equivalent to around 1kg per square centimetre.
Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field
I wonder what kind of bubbly the German researcher was using. He quoted the bottle pressure as 2.5 bar. The normal pressure of a well shaken champagne bottle at 20 deg. C is closer to 6 bar. Even at a serving temperature of 5 deg C, this would still be 3.5 bar. I guess we will need to do some testing!
Paul Ahvenainen, F. Korbel & Bros
A few questions:
1) is the measurement in gauge or absolute (sounds nit-picky to a wineau but scientists like to use the lingo);
2) what was the temperature of the wine (the colder the lower the pressure); and
3) was the fizzy in question actually French Champagne or a German bubbly?
Whether or not it is bar gauge or bar absolute, this is atypically low pressure (after disgorgement, true Champagne has 3.5 to 5 bars absolute at room temp.) which leads me to ask whether or not a) how cold was it and b) was it truly Champagne and not a transfer or bulk produced German sparkling wine?
Not as silly as it sounds. I read a story a few years back about Chianti having the most histamines of all red wines tested. I contacted the doctor who conducted the research and asked him which Chianti he used. "Franzia, I believe". And I was all ready to ask him if it was a Riserva....
Anyway, my compliments on a study truly needed in these times.
Patrick W Fegan, Chicago Wine School, USA
Very interesting….but more importantly is the equation for how fast your guests are going to drink your champagne over Christmas and new year!
Oh…and loads of mistakes in the experiment but hey ho! Season of goodwill!
James, Buckinghamshire, UK
Presumably there's a pressure differential between vintage and non-vintage. Which was the basis of a funny tongue in cheek putdown on the part of my wife (and not by me I hasten to add). She told how, on opening a bottle of Moet, the cork bounced off a window and hit her on the lip, causing a small cut which was met with the comment "Well, if you will drink non-vintage, what do you expect".
John McGloin, London, UK
Are you serious? Why would anyone spend any time, effort or resources on such a stupid study when there are so many more pressing problems in the world today. I wonder who funded this research was it funded by one of the many “bailouts” being handed out by the governments around the world?
Bravo to scientific research!
Michael Gelven, USA
What a dumb thing to do. Things must be verrrry dull IN THEIR LIVES. Why did they shake a bottle of champagne and leave another in the sun??? What kind of people are these? WEIRD!!!
Chris V. Buklin
I just wanted to say if your car tires are inflated at one third of 2.5bar you will need to pump them up and before you ruin your tires or cause an accident.
Anon
In Australia we would say: “What a tosser!”
Russell Blaikie, Highgate, Australia
Well reflected Patrick. But, the remembrance of the slight hiss of the celebratory Magnum I opened last night makes me ponder even more. Professor, I ask: "Was yours vintage or not, and if so…?"
Georges Meekers, Wine Campus
I also congratulate this study. How many bottles of champgne were used in the trial? And could I get the managers of the Dom Perignon Vintage 2000 to send me a similar number of bottles to check and see whether the speed a cork exits a champagne bottle is winery dependant or varies between wineries? Another very important piece of scientific knowledge which is missing!
Matt, New Zealand
This 'problem' received some attention about twenty years ago because of rumours of legal action involving eye damage from 'missiling' stoppers and corks.
When the muselet is removed, the cork is likely to be ejected by the pressure of the gas in the headspace of the bottle. The potential energy is proportional to the volume and pressure of the headspace gas; thus bottles with a lower liquid level deliver more energy, with hollow plastic stoppers having a slight edge in this department. The energy released can be estimated using the equation for the isothermal expansion of an Ideal Gas. This indicates the potential release of some 15-20 Joule when a bottle of sparkling wine is opened.
Assuming that there are no aerodynamic losses, the kinetic energy and velocity of an ejected stopper can be estimated from its weight, (5-10 g) and the height to which it rises (5-10 m) when a bottle in the vertical position is opened. This was done by opening bottles alongside a 15 metre, calibrated stainless steel tank.
Estimated speeds at ejection were 35-50 km/hour, (10-14 m/sec) requiring energies of 3-6 Joule, about equivalent to a slap on the wrist, but fast enough to preclude evasive action at close range and occasionally, enough momentum to damage eyes, spectacles, glassware, moulded ceilings and light fittings.
(“Closures for wine bottles”. Australian Grapegrower & Winemaker, April 1989; pp 99-107)
John Casey, Australia
Register on decanter.com absolutely free for news alerts delivered direct to your email inbox, and our fortnightly newsletter with advance notice of what’s coming up in Decanter magazine, offers, competitions and more.
PLUS registration is a one-stop shop for the Decanter magazine Archive and Decanter Fine Wine Tracker.
