In champagnes and sparkling wines, the concentration of dissolved CO₂ determines:

• The frequency of bubble formation,
• The growth rate of the bubbles,
• The collapse of bubbles and chemosensory excitation of the oral cavity,
• The nose or bouquet.

Gérard Liger-Belair and co-workers, Université de Reims, France, have used an infrared thermography technique to investigate ways of serving champagne to best preserve the initial CO₂ levels.

The traditional champagne-style of serving, with the glass upright, was shown to have a greater rate of CO₂ loss than the beer-like method where the glass is initially tilted and the upright position recovered as the champagne is poured.

The greater turbulences from the champagne-like method are responsible for increased diffusion-convection processes that enable CO₂ loss. These processes, and therefore CO₂ loss, were also shown to increase at higher temperatures.

• On the Losses of Dissolved CO₂ during Champagne Serving
  G. Liger-Belair, M. Bourget, S. Villaume, P. Jeandet, H. Pron, G. Polidori,
  J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58.
  DOI: 10.1021/jf101239w