So the time has come to open that bottle of champagne. The problem is how exactly do you do it with out upsetting the three archduchesses and the Romanov Prince that you have invited to enjoy it with you. Ok, so it isn’t that bad but it certainly does feel that way. There is nothing worse than having your Brother-in-law or someone else of that ilk criticizing your technique.

                With an apology to the gang at the great sparkling wine house of Chandon, from whom we have borrowed some of the following information, we will try to unravel the mystery of properly opening and subsequently serving sparkling wine plus some useless but possibly interesting information on the subject.  View it in full screen. 

How to Open a Bottle of Sparkling Wine

1.        Make sure the bottle is cold. Sparkling wine tastes best when cool (45 to 55 degrees). The best way to chill sparkling wine is to place the bottle in a bucket of half ice and half cold water for about twenty minutes. 

2.             Remove the foil covering the cork. Most sparkling wine bottles have a tear tab for this purpose. 

3.             Place a folded cloth napkin over the cork and wire hood. Grasp the cork and neck of the bottle through the napkin. Tilt the bottle away from yourself and others at a 45-degree angle, bracing the bottom of the bottle against yourself. If you are opening the bottle in its ice bucket, brace the bottom against the inside corner of the bucket. 

4.             Pull down the wire tab that secures the hood; untwist the tab and loosen the wire hood so that it does not catch on the lip of the bottle. However, do not remove the wire hood and do not let go of the cork. Still grasping the cork and wire hood through the cloth napkin, slowly twist the tilted bottle, not the cork.

 5.             As you turn the bottle, the pressure of the bubbles will push the cork out. Keep a firm grip on the cork and gently let it ease itself out of the bottle. Try tilting the edge of the cork closest to you to allow the gas to escape slowly off the side. The cork should come out with a whisper, not a loud pop. Loud pops are for TV and the movies, but not for a good wine.

 Facts about sparkling wine 

Cava is the Spanish term for sparkling wines made using the traditional champagne method.

Method of Manufacture

Methode Champenoise is the traditional French champagne method. The sparkling wine's crucial second fermentation, which creates natural carbonation, occurs in the bottle in which it is later sold.

Charmat. Also called the "bulk" process, charmat sparkling wines are fermented in tanks and often produce champagnes with large, lazy bubbles that disappear too quickly.

Fermented in the bottle. This phrase indicates that the "transfer" process was used. The sparkling wine undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle, but unlike methode champenoise, the wine is emptied from that bottle, filtered and rebottled. It is commonly thought that sparkling wine loses both flavor and delicate bubble structure in transit.

Brut Nature                                    Bone dry                                             0.0 ‑ 0.5% sugar

Brut                                                 No perceptible sweetness               0.5 ‑ 1.5% sugar

Extra Dry                                        Slight sweetness                               1.2 ‑ 2.0% sugar

Sec, Dry                                         Noticeable sweetness                      1.7 ‑ 3.5% sugar

Demi‑Sec                                        Very sweet                                         3.3 ‑ 5.0% sugar

Doux                                               Extremely sweet                                 More than 5% sugar 

Bottle Sizes

Split                                                 187 mL

Half‑bottle                                      375 mL

Bottle                                              750 mL

Magnum                                         1.5 L                                2 bottles

Jeroboam                                        3 L                                   4 bottles

Rehoboam                                      4.5 L                                6 bottles

Methuselah                                   6 L                                   8 bottles

Salmanazar                                     9 L                                   12  bottles

Balthazar                                        12 L                                 16 bottles

Nebuchadnezzar                           15 L                                 20 bottles