How to Open a Champagne Bottle

Champagne is one of the chummiest drinks, usually reserved for special toasts and important occasions. In fact, even if you do not have a special occasion to celebrate, you can make any occasion memorable by a toasting a glass of good champagne. The bubbling refresher ideally compliments all the meals, adding to their flavor. Thus, sipping champagne with your companions or loved ones is surely a treat, relaxing you to the core. However, many people find opening the Champagne bottle to be a dreadful task. In case you are one of them and feel reluctant to do the same, we have provided the procedure of opening champagne, without hurting your guests. Of course, you get to impress the lady you have been eyeing for a long time in the party! So, don’t wait, go on; your special evening is just a ‘pop’ away.

Opening A Champagne Bottle

Before trying to open a bottle of champagne, you should make sure that the bottle is chilled. Around 45^oF (7^oC) is the ideal temperature on which you should serve the bubbly drink. The bottle should always be very cold to touch, not just cool.
Once you have ensured that the champagne is chilled, it is the time to open the bottle. For the purpose, take notice of the foil wrapped around the outside of the cage (which you will find in almost every champagne bottle) and remove it gently.
After you have removed the foil from your champagne bottle, it would be advisable to keep the bottle pointed in a safe direction, out of the reach of others. If possible, keep your thumb on it. This is because corks can loosen over time, even popping of their own volition.
The next step will comprise of undoing the wire cage, which has 'stopping the cork from popping out' as its main purpose. However, before you start doing it, make sure that your thumb is firmly on the cork. This way, you will be able to avoid any unplanned surprise.
As soon as you get the cage off the champagne bottle, get a towel and place it over the cork. Now, use one of your hands to hold the cork (under the towel) and with the other, hold the bottle's base. Now, turn the bottle, not the cork, slowly and gently.
By now, you must have eased the cork off the bottle, even saving the bubbles and air from being lost in the process. Finally, it is the time to pour the champagne, from the bottle, into the glasses. For the purpose, slide the towel around to the neck of the bottle.

Some Tips

While pouring the champagne into glasses, try to pour down the sides. This will make sure that bubble wastage is minimized.
A tall champagne flute or tulip-shaped glass makes the perfect companion for the rich, bubbly drink.
When you are not pouring from the champagne bottle, make sure to keep it in the ice bucket, so that the drink remains chilled.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Art & Entertainment'