How to open a bottle of champagne correctly and safely?

Opening champagne correctly is a science. Surely everyone saw in the films how, when the bottle was opened, a loud “sissy” sounds and at the same time, when foaming, half of the sparkling drink is poured. That is why there is an opinion that a bottle prepared for a solemn event should “shoot”. In fact, the high quality of the drink and the ability to open the bottle is correctly indicated by quiet cotton and light smoke. This method requires knowledge of the rules and skills.

Basic Rules

Below we will consider various ways of opening champagne with a plastic and cork stopper - with your hands, a knife or with a corkscrew. All of them have general rules for preparing and cooling the drink. The observance of these rules determines how much time the drink will be ready to serve, and its taste.

• Champagne should not be cooled too much. The optimum temperature is 4-8º C.
• It is best to cool in a special bucket - cooler.
• Water is necessarily poured into the cooler, and then ice is put there. With this method, the desired temperature will be reached in 30-40 minutes. If you fall asleep only ice - the cooling process will be very long.
• You can bring sparkling wine to the desired temperature in the refrigerator, but in no case in the freezer. This process can take up to 6 hours.
• Before opening the bottle, remove the foil from it. To do this, she is cut with a knife under the cork, and only then removed.

Tip

If there is no ice at hand, you can put champagne under running cold water. There it will not cool completely, but after half an hour it will “lose” up to 10 degrees. It makes no sense to keep it there, as further cooling is possible only with ice or in the refrigerator.

We open champagne correctly

Cooled to the desired temperature sparkling wine is served on the table in the cooler on a front plate, as condensation will leave a wet stain on the tablecloth.

The one who will open and pour the drink must perform the following steps.

• Tilt the bottle at an angle of 45º and hold it with one hand from the bottom. How much to tilt the bottle, it is easy to determine visually: if the bottle is tilted correctly, the champagne will be at a distance of about 1 cm from the cork.
• Remove the wire bridle (myuzle) while holding the cork on top with your finger.
• Rotate the bottle (not the cork), and then slightly shake it, holding the cork tightly, allowing it to come out of the neck gradually.
• After cotton, you can open and pour a noble drink. He pours into the glasses slowly, so as not to start foaming.

Tip

If there are few guests, it is better not to throw away the bridle and cork, perhaps sparkling wine will have to be corked for subsequent storage.

How to open champagne with a corkscrew?

It rarely happens that the tops of a plastic or cork cork breaks off.

If the cork is broken, you can open the bottle in three ways.

• 1st method.

The knife cuts off the remains of the upper part of the cork. Then it is pressed a little inward, then it is knocked out on the bottom with a cotton. This method is quite extreme, since a foamed drink flies out when popping.

• 2nd method.

A hole is made in the cork so that part of the carbon dioxide escapes from it and the pressure decreases. Residues are pressed in with a thin, blunt object.

• 3rd method - using a corkscrew.

The corkscrew is screwed into the cork and pulled out with it. To prevent the bottle from breaking into pieces from excessive pressure, here you also need to make a hole and let out some of the gas.This method is suitable if champagne is corked. Plastic open with a corkscrew will not work.

How much champagne is stored at home?

If champagne is purchased for the future, questions arise - how to store it correctly and how long will it retain its taste? Storage time depends on the release date of the drink and how it is sealed. Sparkling wine with a cork stopper will retain its bouquet for two years, but plastic will reduce this period by half - up to 12 months from the date of production.

Such periods are possible only subject to storage conditions.

• Suitable temperature - from +5 to + 18º
• The bottle should be kept horizontal. Otherwise, the cork may dry out and will crack inside when opened.
• Care must be taken to prevent light from entering the bottle. Bright sunlight falling on champagne can ruin its taste in 15-20 minutes.

After the bottle has been opened, it can not be stored for long. A previously opened sparkling wine is stored in the refrigerator for 24 hours, provided that it is tightly sealed. So much time it will retain its taste. In this case, carbon dioxide bubbles may not persist.

It depends on two components - how long the sparkling wine stood on the table open and how much is left. The more champagne in the bottle and the less it was open, the more likely it will not lose its “sparkling” properties. If the bottle was re-closed loosely or stood for more than a day, the wine can be used for marinating meat and preparing various sauces.

Read an article about how to cook rice