How to Open a Bottle of Champagne

Posted on October 19th, 2009 by Elaine

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A delicious glass of bubbly champagne will definitely heighten the excitement and sophistication at any celebration. When it’s time for that special toast, you’ll want to grab and uncork a bottle. What you don’t want, though, is for the cork to go sailing across the room and the champagne to spill all over the carpet. To help you out, here’s how to uncork a bottle of champagne properly.

What You’ll Need:

Bottle of champagne
Kitchen towel
Champagne glasses

Procedure:

Get the champagne and a clean kitchen towel. If the bottle is moist or wet, wipe it with the towel first.

champagne bottle

Remove the foil that’s wrapped around the neck and the cork. During the old days, this helps keep the mice from gnawing on the cork. In some champagne bottles, the foil has a tab that you can pull so unwrapping becomes faster. Just pull on this tab to remove the foil and expose the wire cage. You can then discard the wrapping.
Keeping a thumb over the cork, and the bottle upright, carefully loosen the wire cage surrounding the bottle’s top. There’s a twisted wire at the base of the cage; unscrew it carefully, loosening it until it can be removed without having to dislodge the cork. Make sure the cage is loosened thoroughly, but leave the cage on the cork.
Get the towel again and cover the bottle’s top. Hold the champagne bottle in one hand, then the towel covering the cork in the other. Point it upwards, at a 45-degree angle away from you, other people, or from breakable items.
Gently twist the bottle, while holding on the cork with the kitchen towel. Slightly pull the bottle downwards as the bottle is twisted. Don’t twist the cork. You’ll feel a slight pressure on it, but keep it steady as you keep twisting.
When the cork comes off, you’ll hear a “woosh” sound, or a small pop. Unless the champagne has been shaken, it won’t spill much. Wipe the spilled champagne on the neck and body of the glass using the towel.
Serve the champagne in clear crystal glasses. Toast and drink up!

While some would want to spill and splash champagne around after opening it, there are many who’s like to sip theirs without much fuss and mess. Follow these tips and you’ll surely enjoy your bottle of bubbly drink!