Maison Mumm x Axiom Space

Toasting the Stars

Maison Mumm partners with Axiom Space to develop a new champagne for celebrations amongst the stars.

Replicating the same standard of dining and imbibing experiences in space as travellers have come to expect on land, is one of the great challenges of suborbital hospitality. Gravity, atmospheric conditions and alterations to a person’s sense of smell are amongst the limiting factors, but a growing number of ventures seek to make freeze-dried food and powdered beverages a thing of the past.

With that in mind, Maison Mumm has revealed the first champagne bottle and tasting experience designed for human spaceflight. Developed in collaboration with Axiom Space, Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar is faithful to the production techniques that the French champagne house has perfected over generations, and has now achieved full compliance with cargo specifications, meaning it can fly on future space missions.

To create the special blend, Cellar Master Laurent Fresnet participated in a parabolic flight in order to understand the impact of zero-gravity conditions. He found that the conditions of tasting champagne in space differ on a physiological level, and that the behaviour of the champagne itself is affected too, with bubbles no longer rising to the surface to release their aromas. Taking this into account, Fresnet selected a blend of grapes from the 2016 harvest – a majority of Pinot Noir, the house’s signature variety – and extended the ageing process to five years to develop notes of vine peach, hazelnut and praline. The end result reinforces the Mumm characteristics of freshness, intensity and complexity – ideal for tasting conditions where the senses are altered.

The packaging for Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar has also been carefully considered: the wine is contained in a half glass bottle with a stainlesssteel opening-closing device – two materials that ensure its preservation and meet the champagne classification. To respond to the constraints dictated by space, the glass is protected within an aeronautical-grade aluminium shell, topped with an orbiting ring that contains the cork.

“The Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar recognises that, to bring humanity to space we can’t just bring humans, we need to bring human traditions,” explains Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space’s President and CEO. “This philosophy of celebrating humankind empowers our goal for Axiom Station, a next generation destination that will serve as a thriving home in space to enable a diverse space economy, further exploration and enable more of humanity to access space.”