A Step-by-Step Guide with Video to Opening Champagne and Sparkling Wine

“Here’s to Champagne, the drink divine, that helps us forget all our troubles. It’s made from a dollar’s-worth of wine and three-dollars’-worth of bubbles.” (Anonymous)

The pop of a sparkling wine cork is a cue that the party has started! After all, Champagne and other bubblies are the symbol of festivity and good living. I drink it as often as possible for my health and well-being.

But with that pop, you are losing the bubbles that you paid so much for!

On a serious note, bubbles build pressure within the bottle which, when released, can turn the cork into a projectile travelling at 50 miles per hour.

Do you want to be hit with anything travelling at 50 miles per hour?

To save yourself, your friends and your belongings from damage, here are steps for safely opening a bottle of bubbly.

Mise en Place (Everything in its Place)

1. To begin, be sure your bubbly is icy cold. If preferred, you can allow the bottle to chambrè (come to room temperature) after opening.

2. Have a cloth napkin or bar towel on hand, as well as a Champagne stopper. The best have arms that securely grip the bottle neck such as this one from Amazon: Cuisinart CTG-00-CHS Champagne Stopper.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

The Big Event (Video Tutorial Below)

3. Plan the path a flying cork will travel if the cork gets away from you. (It happens to the best of us.)

4. Remove the foil capsule.

5. From now on, do not let go of the cork. Everything is done beneath your hand and cloth.

• Place the cloth over the wire cage. Hold it in place with your less dominant hand.
• With your other hand, locate the tab on the cage. Twist the tab and loosen the cage.
• Switch hands to hold the cloth and cage with your strong hand. With your other hand, firmly grasp the bottle’s bottom.
• Point the bottle away from anything that may be damaged, including yourself. Hold the bottle at an angle, not straight up.
• Holding the cloth, cage and cork firmly, twist the bottle (not the cork).
• As you feel the cork being pushed from the bottle, push back.
• Allow the cork to be pushed from the bottle slowly with a gentle pop, or even gentler “sigh” of released gasses.
• Holding the bottle at an angle for a few seconds, allow gasses to escape.
• If not enjoying your bubbly immediately, place the stopper on the bottle, firmly locking the arms into place. Put the bottle in the refrigerator, standing upright. An ice bucket - filled with half water, half ice – is also handy, but may not chill wine at the top of the bottle.
  
  

What If?

On rare occasions, the cork breaks before being fully removed. In my 30-year career, it’s happened to me only twice. Don’t panic! With your hand on the cork, move to a safe spot. Stand the bottle on a table and remove the cork with a corkscrew, always keeping your eyes out of the trajectory of a flying cork.

The Good News

Opening bubbly bottles gets easier with practice! For a visual demonstration, check out this video:  

You can also join me to celebrate the sparkling season with these wine classes:

Bubbles and Bites, featuring four hand-crafted sparklers (including a Grand Cru Champagne!) and a French 75 cocktail, paired with four delectable dishes. Join me on Friday, December 27 at 6:30pm.

Raise a Glass, our Happy Hour tasting, sees off the old year and welcomes the new with three sparklers and complementary noshes. Join me on Friday, December 27 at 5pm. 

"Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life.” ~Charles Dickens (English novelist, 1812 –1870)