Smith's Law ...... and sugar-free champagne

Do you know : P=T/4.5+1  or Smith’s Law ?

People with diabetes are at a distinct disadvantage for they cannot enjoy many delicacies.  There are some brands of sweets, cakes, biscuits and drinks manufactured and labelled as ‘sugar-free’ urging people to eat guilt-free. Soft drinks and  Beverages are taboo for they contain high amount of sugar ~ so also is alcohol….. [well TT like me don’t take alcohol any way]; when one drinks, the liver decreases its ability to release glucose so that it can instead clean the alcohol from one’s blood. Because glucose production is shut down, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) becomes a risk for people with diabetes, particularly when they drink on an empty stomach of  if you drink on an empty stomach or shortly after taking insulin.

Sure have heard of ‘Champagne’ ~  a sparkling wine produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France following rules that demand secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to create carbonation. The primary grapes used in the production of Champagne are Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Champagne first gained world renown because of its association with the anointment of French kings. You would have seen in bigger celebrations that ‘bottle of champagne is opened, and contents pop up, getting sprayed on everyone around’.  The ripeness of the grapes and the amount of sugar added after the second fermentation—dosage—varies and will affect the amount of sugar remaining in the Champagne when bottled for sale.

Ms Amanda Thomson - photo courtesy : www.dailymail.co.uk 

Now comes the news  of ‘sugar-free champagne’ – Daily Mail reports of the news of a British woman launching sugar-free champagne after she moves to Paris to take on the French at their own game.  The woman, a former BBC presenter by name,  Amanda Thomson, 40, quit BBC job to become a winemaker in France.  Amanda Thomson was inspired to create a low-calorie version of the luxury drink after her job as a showbiz reporter made her worry about gaining weight from attending VIP parties. So she left her job as a journalist at BBC London and moved her family to Paris, where she studied under one of the world's pre-eminent wine experts.  The reports states that Ms Thomson, 40, has just signed an agreement to get her products into a top-class restaurant in the New Forest, and is hoping to bring it to leading mine merchants across the UK.

It is stated that  Ms Thomson graduated from a wine course at the elite Cordon Bleu cookery school and was then hired by the Penet family to create a 'zero dosage' champagne at their vineyard in the Champagne region of north-east France. Zero dosage fizz does not have sugar added during manufacturing, unlike traditional champagne. Ms Thomson's wine has just 60 calories in each glass - significantly less than the 100 calories found in most sparkling wines. The French don't really care about calories, but it's proving to be very popular in Britain and in the emerging Asian markets,' the budding winemaker said. So, happy days for those who were longing to taste that champagne…….

Uncorking a bottle often allows some amount of spillage of the costly vintage champagne and Scientists have developed a formula for the perfect way to uncork a bottle of champagne.  The formula is named after Dr Steve Smith, a lecturer in wine studies at Coventry University, who founded it.  The formula is  P = T/4.5 + 1, where P is pressure and T is temperature. It is based on the fact that the pressure in a typical bottle of champagne at room temperature is equivalent to the pressure of a double-decker bus tyre. To make uncorking safe, the temperature of the liquid should be between 5C and 7C, which means the pressure will be 2 to 2.5 atmospheres, a third lower than when the bottle is at room temperature.  Dr Smith said: "If you get the temperature right, the pressure will be right and you will be able to enjoy the champagne at its best.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

8^th April 2013.