It’s not often that a bottle of Champagne earns astronaut status. But on July 15, 2025, Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar touched back down on Earth after a 20-day mission aboard Axiom Mission 4, having orbited the planet inside a specially engineered bottle built to withstand zero gravity—and still pop with style. The bottle survived re-entry intact, making it the first spacefaring champagne ever crafted, launched, and now slated for tasting. Not since the days of polar expeditions in the early 20th century has Maison Mumm—founded in 1827—so literally followed its motto of “only the best.”
The journey began back in 2017, when Mumm partnered with a strange dream team of space architects and aerospace agencies. Octave de Gaulle of SPADE designed the futuristic bottle; CNES (France’s national space agency) ensured it was flight-safe; and astronaut Jean-François Clervoy helped field-test it for zero-G sipping. Over the next nine years, prototypes were tested, tweaked, and reengineered until, in March 2025, a final test flight confirmed what the Maison had always suspected: even in space, champagne deserves proper ritual.
The space bottle is a feat of its own. A half-glass core sits within an aeronautical-grade aluminum casing, featuring a long, slim neck and cork secured with a metal ring. The iconic red sash still slashes across its body, branding it unmistakably Mumm—even in orbit. The bottle’s mechanics allow champagne to be served without gravity, which sounds impossible until you remember astronauts drink from floating spheres of liquid.
The champagne inside was adjusted for space, too. Zero gravity dulls the senses, so Mumm’s cellar master, Yann Munier, subtly rebalanced the blend. More oak-aged dosage liqueur. Longer aging. More aromatic power to cut through the astronaut palate.
This mission is more than a PR stunt. “Beyond its contribution to space exploration,” says Maison Mumm CEO César Giron, “this project preserves the memory of terroir and ritual—human culture in a glass.” Sébastien Barde of CNES echoed that sentiment: in long-duration missions, psychological well-being will hinge on shared human traditions, even something as seemingly trivial as opening a bottle of champagne.
In five months, Munier will open the bottle back on Earth and take the first sip of champagne that’s truly cosmic. It will be, as Mumm intended, a toast to both the stars and the soil.
For more information, head over to the brand’s official website.
