Maison Mumm is launching Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar this month: a ground-breaking feat of technology that makes it possible for astronauts and other space travelers to enjoy champagne in the challenging surroundings of zero gravity.
The fruit of a three-year partnership with Spade—an agency specialized in space design—Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar employs a revolutionary new bottle and glass concept to transform life in space. Thanks to Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar, Mumm’s art of celebration—along with a range of exciting new taste characteristics—is now available to space explorers.
To make this dream real, Mumm has displayed its innate daring by joining forces with a cutting-edge design start-up. Founded by Octave de Gaulle, Spade is an agency specialized in designing objects for use in space.
“For the last 40 years, space travel has been shaped by engineers rather than designers. Instead of seeing zero gravity as a problem to be solved, we look at it as a design possibility,” de Gaulle explains. “The big design challenge for Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar was actually getting
Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar transforms the act of raising a toast. Without gravity’s helping hand, its high-tech bottle design uses the champagne’s gas to expel the liquid into a ring-shaped frame, where it is concentrated into a droplet of bubbles. The bottle is crafted from transparent glass and embellished with the Mumm Grand Cordon cuvée’s distinctive red sash. It can then be passed to someone and released into the air, where it floats until gathered in a specially designed glass.
The innovation isn’t confined to technology. In the unique conditions of zero gravity, Mumm Grand Cordon takes on new and unsuspected taste characteristics too. The sensations begin as soon as the wine leaves the bottle, appearing as an effervescent ball of foam. The novelty continues when the champagne enters the mouth, where the foam transforms itself into a liquid.
“It’s a very surprising feeling,” explains Mumm’s Cellar Master Didier Mariotti. “Because of zero gravity, the liquid instantly coats the entire inside of the mouth, magnifying the taste sensations. There’s less fizziness and more roundness and generosity, enabling the wine to express itself fully.”
Mumm’s new glass design is part of the Mumm Grand Cordon Stellar experience. It features a tapering stem crowned by a slightly concave cup two inches in diameter. Surface tension makes the floating droplet adhere to the glass, allowing it to be raised to the lips. The design also enables glasses to be clinked together in a toast.
Maison Mumm hopes that this wine-tasting experience will be available to as many people as possible. The champagne should soon be served to participants in the zero gravity flights organized by Air Zero G, while discussions are in progress to supply it to future space missions.
