How to Open a Bottle of Champagne

Have you recently purchased a Dom Perignon 2000 from the Ideal Wine Company?  If so, this is the blog post for you, as we explain how to open a bottle of Champagne.

Real Champagne

It’s practically a running societal joke at this point. If every television programme that’s ever been made is to be believed, then you must tread very carefully when you open a bottle of Champagne. The liquid will shoot up out of the bottle at the speed of light and the cork will hit you in the eye.

This is a myth, but it’s somewhat based in fact. A good Champagne, a quality bottle like the Louis Roederer Cristal 2000, which you can buy from the Ideal Wine Company, shouldn’t rush to escape the bottle after the cork has been popped out of its neck; that’s the sign of a poorly made vintage. However if you aren’t careful, a runaway cork can do some damage!

Step-by-step guide

That’s why you need to know how to open a bottle of Champagne. It’s not like opening a bottle of wine. You can open a bottle of wine with a corkscrew; a technique that would prove disastrous if you used it to try to gain entrance to the king of sparkling wines. Instead you should:

  • Gently unwrap the foil around the cork; it’ll usually have a tab you can pull which will allow you to do this really easily.
  • Point the neck of the bottle away from you and place your thumb on the top of the cork. This is vital because some corks loosen over time, so if you don’t do this the cork may pop out of the top of the neck before you’re ready to open the bottle.
  • Unwind the wire cage that’s wrapped around the neck of the bottle carefully. It’s vital that you keep your thumb on top of the cork at this point, to stop the cork flying out of the bottle.
  • Use one hand to twist the cork gently out of the bottle. Use your other hand to twist the bottle just as gently the other way to assure the cork is released safely.

Give it a go

Follow these steps and you’ll have everything you need to open your chosen vintage safely. Now you know what to do, why don’t you go ahead and buy that bottle of La Grande Annee Bollinger 1995 from the Ideal Wine Company that you’ve been eyeing for months and give it a go? Practice makes perfect!

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