The Reims, France-based company has decided to send its famous bubbles, which symbolises celebration and the art of living, into space.
1. Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar
Maison Mumm Champagne have been working with space travel design agency, Spade, to create a Champagne able to be enjoyed in zero gravity conditions and the first bottle is ready to take off to space in the next Axiom mission in 2023. After years in the making, Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar is now in full compliance with the requirements for spaceflight as certified by the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales, or National Center for Space Studies) while respecting AOC Champagne regulations, which certifies the integrity of the wine.
Check out #Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar, the first #champagne boldly designed for space travel @AirZeroG pic.twitter.com/lR8H0i3dou
— MUMM (@GHMUMM) July 3, 2018
Axiom’s collaboration with Mumm and the Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar recognizes that, to bring humanity to space we can’t just bring humans, we need to bring human traditions.
Michael Suffredini, president and CEO of Axiom Space
2. Preserving the elixir
Astronauts and space tourists will be able to enjoy a Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar that will be preserved thanks to its glass bottle held in a shell made of aeronautical-grade aluminum and secured by a stainless steel opening and closing device. The upper part of the bottle, known as the “service”, is composed of a long neck topped by a cork and a ring — the latter retaining the cork.
To compensate for the lack of bubbles rising to the surface due to microgravity, Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar is dispensed as a foam, which then coats the walls of the mouth. The company bet on a specific blend of Pinot Noir — Mumm’s signature grape variety — with reserve wines from the past five years delivering notes of ripe yellow fruit and vine peach, but also dried fruit, hazelnut and praline.
My goal was to retain the freshness and power of Mumm Cordon Rouge, and to enhance the intensity of its aromas with more aging and a dosage liqueur made with wines aged in oak barrels.
Laurent Fresnet, cellar master
Jean-François Clervoy, a French astronaut with the European Space Agency who collaborated on the creation of Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar said that it is essential to maintain a link with Earth and its culture when in space. “As a symbol of the art of living that has endured through time, champagne has this universal appeal,” said Clervoy.
