How to Open Champagne - Uncorking the Bubbles

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Dec 4th 2009 @ 12:30PM

champagne bottle Photo: Apple Blossom Photography, Flickr

A friend had me over for dinner and handed me a bottle of Champagne to open. His roommate handed me a corkscrew. This reminded me how often folks really don't know how to open a bottle of bubbly. Here's how to properly open your champagne for the holidays and beyond:

1. Chill Champagne 3 hours in fridge or 30 minutes in ice bucket. Chilled Champagne is less volatile ... and tastier! Take care to not shake or disturb too much to also lessen volatility of bubbles.

2. Towel dry your chilled bottle to prevent any slippage.

3. Remove foil from top by pulling tab or gently cutting foil if no tab present.

4. Point the bottle away from you and other people just in case a cork gets on the loose.

5. Keeping thumb on the cork, remove wire cage with cap with six half twists. If you truly want to impress your friends, call the wire cage by its French name "le muselet."

6. Hold cork in one hand with slight downward pressure to prevent cork flying out and hold the fat part of the bottle in the other. If it helps you feel more secure, hold the cork with a towel in your hand for better grip and to help capture a runaway cork or wine spillage.

7. Twist the bottle and cork in opposite directions until you hear a soft "ssssffft" not the big pop you see in movies. This gentle way of opening helps maintain the bubble better. An old saying goes, "The ears loss is the palate's gain."

Want to really impress guests? Learn the "le sabrage" method after the jump.

See there. No device needed so put the corkscrew and other contraptions away. That is, unless you hanker for a flashier removal of the cork. Try "le sabrage" method using a large knife or sword. This works best on high quality glass bottles used for true Champagne, not cheap bubbly wine, so that the lip comes off cleanly instead of the bottle shattering.

1. Same as steps 1-5.

2. Remove the entire foil from all the neck, not just the top.

3. As an optional step to prevent the cork flying out prematurely, you may retie the muselet on to the top ridge of the bottle above the bottom lip where it was originally twisted around. Some folks like to chill the neck holding the bottle upside for a few minutes in an ice bucket to further inhibit the cork from coming out on its own. If you'd like to keep tabs on the cork, retie the cage to the bottle as described above and tie a string to it. Tie the other end of the string to your belt loop. Sabered corks have been known to travel several meters!

4. Locate the seam on the side of the bottle that leads from the bottom to the top where the lip is. Where the lip meets this point is the weakest part of the glass.

5. Holding the bottle at a slight angle (around 45 degrees) away from you and everyone else with your thumb in the punt (the bottom of the bottle), slide the blunt end of your knife or sword down this seam a few times to get the feel. Then with one strong swipe at a 90 degree angle to the bottle, quickly saber with the blunt end of your knife or sword with power coming from the elbow, not the wrist. The impact on the lip will cause the glass to break, and the pressure built up in the bottle will cause the cork still in the lip to fly!

Get more tips on how to open champagne or sparkling wine in this video from the pros at The Culinary Institute of America on our sister site, KitchenDaily.

Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the head mixtress at Casa Cóctel. She's owned her own whiskey label, called Red Hook Rye, and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.

Filed Under: Drink Recipes, Entertaining
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