What causes the bubbles in champagne when it's poured into a flute?

Question

I heard somewhere that fine, microscopic dust causes the bubbles in the glass. Anybody know if that's true?

Answer 1

It is true. Carbon dioxide causes the bubbles in all carbonated drinks. As the champagne ferments, carbon dioxide gas builds up in it. Since it is enclosed in a corked bottle, it stays dissolved in the water, but the pressure in the bottle increases. That pressure is what "pops" when you uncork the bottle - or when you open a beer or a soda.

Without the pressure, the carbon dioxide turns back into a gas and escapes as bubbles. It is true that microscopic impurities like dust or bits of scratches in the glass are the "launching points" for the bubbles, as they need something to coalesce into a bubble around - i.e. get started as a bubble.

The same is true for boiling water - the bubbles need a small impurity around which to form. There have been cases reported where people microwave very pure water in very smooth glass bowls to the boiling temperature, but the bubbles could not form. When they stick a spoon or anything in it, it basically explodes, as all of that energy comes out at once. People have been badly burned.

Raindrops, too for that matter - they don't form unless there is a small bit to form around.

Answer 2

What Causes Champagne Bubbles

Answer 3

The following referrs to beer, but the fundamental concepts are the same as for champagne.

• The smoother the surface in contact with the beer, the more likely the carbon dioxide will stay in the beer. Take two glasses. Sand the inside of one with 100 grit (fairly coarse) sandpaper. Pour beer into both. Which one foams up more? What is happening is that dissolved carbon dioxide needs a rough spot called a nucleation site to form a bubble. Clean beer lines and beer-clean glasses (see Beer-Clean Glasses, page 12) have fewer nucleation sites and therefore keep the carbon dioxide dissolved in the beer, where it belongs.

• Mechanical agitation can cause carbon dioxide to come out of solution. If you tap a keg right after it is delivered, the first few pints will be foamy, just like beer from a shaken can.

Beer-Clean Glasses
In a clean sink, wash the glasses with a low-foam glass cleaner. Rinse thoroughly with fresh water. Sanitize with the minimum amount of sanitizer required (according to label instructions). Use test strips to ensure the proper level of sanitizer.

Dry the glasses in a way that allows airflow inside the glasses, such as on a drying rack. Finally, rinse the glasses with cold water before filling them with beer.

To be sure if your glasses are beer-clean, check these three indicators:
• Bubbles will not form on the sides of a beer-clean glass.
• Lacing from the head will only form on a beer-clean glass.
• Wet the inside of a glass and place it upside down on the bar. If drops cling to the glass, it isn’t beer-clean.

Answer 4

It may not be actually dust but any imperfection in the glass will cause this to happen

Bubbles in the bubbly are dissolved carbon dioxide gas. When the pressure is lowered (when the bottle is opened) or the liquid heated, the CO2 is less soluble. In order for the CO2 to come out of the solution, it needs a "seed" (sort of like rain needs a "seed" in a cloud to start falling). Any imperfection in the glass is "seed" enough for the bubbles to form. Even the incredibly small distances between the molecules of the glass can be "seed" if
the conditions are right. quoted Joe Schultz

Answer 5

Yes, there is truth in that. The carbon dioxide is in solution and come out in the form of bubbles when the bottle is opened and pressure released.

You get a fine stream of bubbles appear in the glass where there is a scratch or piece of dust.

It is a common trick to use the diamond an engagement ringto make a small scratch at the bottom of Champagne glasses to encourage bubbles.

See this article in Time - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1013069,00.html

Answer 6

You are correct! Believe it or not, the "dirtier" your glass, the more bubbles you'll get!

Answer 7

I always thought it was just plain old carbonation

Answer 8

Dissolved carbonic acid, not dust in your glasses.

Answer 9

carbonation... sorry to burst your bubble!

Answer 10

I want the drugs you are on.