Look Who it Was Random video

What Does 170-Year-Old Champagne Taste Like

3,714 views · Published 3 May 2015 · 3:23 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: The Fowler Show · 2015 · News & Politics

Watch on YouTube

After recovering shipwreck beer that spent 170 years at the bottom of the ocean, scientists concluded that it had a distinctive whiff of goat and overly ripe cheese—delicious. But what about champagne, which can improve with age? Apparently, bottles of the stuff recovered from the same wreckage have a cheesy aroma, married with animal notes. I think I see a pattern emerging.

Alongside this unusual bouquet, scientists discovered that the vintage bubbly was considerably sweeter than what we’re accustomed to today. Furthermore, laboratory analyses revealed that the seabed offers ideal preservation conditions for champagne, and provided us with an intriguing snippet of the history of 19th-century winemaking. The findings have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The old bottles of tipple were discovered back in 2010 inside a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, close to the Åland Islands. Alongside five bottles of beer, 168 bottles of champers were recovered, some of which were sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Although the labels didn’t survive 170 years in salt water, researchers managed to trace the bottles’ origins to Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Heidsieck and Juglar, based on brandings left on the corks.

Unlike the rancid, goaty beer, apparently the champagne still tasted pretty good. After the obligatory tasting session, some samples were brought into the lab in order to scrutinize the chemistry and molecular diversity of the booze, which revealed some fascinating insights into the winemaking process of that time.


Join #FOWLERNATION!! http://bit.ly/SubscribeFowlerNation
Become a Patron! http://Patreon.com/FowlerShow

3 Steps To Join #FowlerNation!
1. Subscribe To The Fowler Show:
http://bit.ly/SubscribeFowlerNation
2. 'Like' The Richard Fowler Show on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/RichardFowlerShow
3. 'Follow' Us on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/fowlershow

These Patrons make the Fowler Show possible ($20+ monthly donation on Patreon.com/FowlerShow) & we couldn't do it without them!
Truthservers.com

Are you a fan of The Fowler Show? Become a Patron & help support independent media! Learn more here:
http://www.patreon.com/fowlershow

Want to help out but don't have any money to donate? Donate your account & help us get our stories out on social media.  Learn more here:
http://www.donateyouraccount.com/fowlershow

If you liked this clip, share it with your friends and hit that "like" button!

1,500 Subscriber Behind The Scenes Reward Video - 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT9x1PvQTBU

Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes for free!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-richard-fowler-show/id510713880

@fowlershow
@richardafowler
http://www.facebook.com/richardfowlershow
http://www.fowlershow.com
http://fowlershow.tumblr.com/


STORY: http://www.iflscience.com/chemistry/scientists-analyze-170-year-old-champagne-found-shipwreck

More from this channel