Prise de mousse

French · taking of the foam

Prise de mousse is the second alcoholic fermentation in the closed bottle that creates the bubbles; Champagne reaches about 6 bar at 20 °C.1,2

It begins after tirage, when yeasts ferment the sugar of the liqueur de tirage. Fermenting that sugar raises alcohol by roughly 1.2-1.3 degrees.3 The Union des Maisons de Champagne says cellars are kept at 9-12 °C and that pressure build-up tails off within two months.3

Bottles are designed to withstand 12 atmospheres.3 The general term is secondary fermentation. See prise de mousse and pressure.

See also

Prise de mousseMethodsSecondary fermentationGlossaryTirageGlossaryCO2 and pressure in the bottleSciencemousseGlossary

Sources

  1. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Fiche Élaboration du Champagne (FR) (2024-05)
  2. Union des Maisons de Champagne. Tirage or bottling the blended wine
  3. Union des Maisons de Champagne. Second fermentation (capturing the sparkle)

Facts checked on 2026-10-19