Unraveling different chemical fingerprints between a champagne wine and its aerosols
- Gérard Liger-Belaira,1,
- Clara Cilindrea,
- Régis D. Gougeonb,
- Marianna Lucioc,
- Istvan Gebefügic,
- Philippe Jeandeta and
- Philippe Schmitt-Kopplinc,1
- aLaboratoire d'Oenologie et Chimie Appliquée, Unité de Recherche Vigne et Vins de Champagne-Unité Propre de Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur EA 2069, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, BP 1039, 51687 Reims, France;
- bInstitut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin–Jules Guyot, EA 581 EMMA, Université de Bourgogne, 21078 Dijon, France; and
- cInstitute for Ecological Chemistry, BioGeoChemistry, and Analytics, Helmoltz Zentrum München, Ingoldstädter Landstraße 1 D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany
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Edited by Jerrold Meinwald, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and approved August 13, 2009 (received for review June 12, 2009)
Abstract
As champagne or sparkling wine is poured into a glass, the myriad of ascending bubbles collapse and radiate a multitude of tiny droplets above the free surface into the form of very characteristic and refreshing aerosols. Ultrahigh-resolution MS was used as a nontargeted approach to discriminate hundreds of surface active compounds that are preferentially partitioning in champagne aerosols; thus, unraveling different chemical fingerprints between the champagne bulk and its aerosols. Based on accurate exact mass analysis and database search, tens of these compounds overconcentrating in champagne aerosols were unambiguously discriminated and assigned to compounds showing organoleptic interest or being aromas precursors. By drawing a parallel between the fizz of the ocean and the fizz in Champagne wines, our results closely link bursting bubbles and flavor release; thus, supporting the idea that rising and collapsing bubbles act as a continuous paternoster lift for aromas in every glass of champagne.
Footnotes
- 1To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: gerard.liger-belair{at}univ-reims.fr or schmitt-kopplin{at}helmholtz-muenchen.de
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Author contributions: G.L.-B., R.D.G., and P.S.-K. designed research; G.L.-B., C.C., R.D.G., I.G., and P.S.-K. performed research; M.L. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; C.C., R.D.G., M.L., I.G., P.J., and P.S.-K. analyzed data; and G.L.-B., C.C., R.D.G., P.J., and P.S.-K. wrote the paper.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
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This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0906483106/DCSupplemental.
