Use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the investigation of the CO2 dissolved in champagne and sparkling wines: a nondestructive and unintrusive method

It is demonstrated in this paper that an imaging spectrometer with the 13C Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) technique is an original unintrusive and nondestructive method, perfectly adapted to determine the amount of CO2 dissolved in a closed bottle of Champagne or Sparkling wine as well as the self-diffusion of CO2 in this matrix. Two Champagnes and one Sparkling wine were analyzed on a 7 T imaging spectrometer. It was necessary to use an imaging spectrometer with a large available bore to insert the bottle, localize the measurement and carry out 1H and 13C spectroscopy with a good sensitivity. In the 13C spectra, CO2 and alcohol signals are well separated. By use of the quantity of ethanol acting as an internal reference, it was possible to deduce the CO2 concentration. We determined the relaxation parameter T1 of CO2. Thanks to diffusion spectroscopy, the diffusion rate of the CO2 in the closed bottle was also calculated. The method can easily be extended to study the CO2 content in closed bottles of other sparkling drinks, like beers, sodas, and fizzy waters.