www.flickr.comChampagne connoisseurs and sommeliers may blanch at the notion but bubbly may taste better at room temperature, scientists have suggested.
A study by the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, in France, has found that fizz keeps its bubbles for longer if served slightly warmer, around 18C.
Physicist Gérard Liger-Belair discovered that the average champagne flute holds around one million bubbles, 14 million fewer than previously thought.
For people who want to taste as many of the bubbles as possible, he suggests tilting the flute while pouring and serving it warmer than recommended.
The number of bubbles is important for the taste because it improves the aroma as the bursting bubbles release carbon dioxide and trigger sensory receptors in the mouth.
Hundreds of bubbles simultaneously bursting at the surface also cause hundreds of tiny droplets to shoot into the air slightly above the glass, causing a pleasant tickling sensation in the mouth and nose.
Belair looked at 'bubble dynamics' to see what the optimal conditions would be for bubble production.
"During the pouring step, champagne loses a very significant part of its initial content in dissolved carbon dioxide," said Belair.
"The concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide found within glasses was found to depend on both the champagne temperature and the way of serving it.
"Several tens of thousands bubbles may be "saved" if champagne is served in a tilted flute.
"And interestingly, the theoretical number of bubbles likely to form was found to globally increase with the champagne temperature."
The study was published the Journal of Physical Chemistry