DID YOU KNOW
We advise our customers to keep their bottles of champagne gently on their side, at a constant low temperature, sheltered from light.
Effectively, champagne is only protected by a small film of glass, and exposing it to the sun for even five minutes can prove harmful to the aromatic intensity of the wine.
Champagne housed in a clear bottle is at a much greater risk than champagne in a green bottle, because once a clear bottle is placed under direct light, such as the fluorescent lighting found in the majority of stores, within one to three hours the wine will be greatly deteriorated.
Green/brown glass helps protect its inner contents at a much high level than clear glass.However, the protection is still not at 100%.
Therefore, we at Forget-Chemin never use clear bottles, not even for our Rosés. But this isn't just because clear bottles do little to protect the wine within them. Clear glass is also bad for the environment in this region, as we can't actually recycle it. 92% of recycled glass in the Champagne region is used for green bottles.
The effect of light on the contents of a bottle have been studied in wines, but also milk, olive oil, and beer. Essentially what happens is the light slowly deteriorates the chemical riboflavin otherwise known as vitamin B2. This particular vitamin is present in tropical fruits such as bananas, kiwis, and grapes, as well as vegetables like asparagus, and last but not least : cheese, milk, and eggs.
What this means for the champagne is that it loses these primary fruity aromas (the first step),but if the bottle stays under a light for a long period of time, other aromas begin to develop such as : cooked cabbage or wet wool.
So please, keep your wine nestled away in the dark, away from the harmful effects of light.