If there is one thing synonymous with New Year’s Eve, it is Champagne, without question.
It is 10 seconds to midnight, the turn of the New Year, and everyone wants to kick it off with a bang – and what better way to ceremonially do that, than by popping a bottle of cold Champagne?
But first things first – for better enjoyment – you should know how to open a bottle of Champagne the right way and how to properly serve it.
Below, sommelier Miguel Chan shares his top tips.
Opening a bottle of bubbly
First, chill your bubbly in an ice bucket for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Then carefully unwrap the foil and open the cage around the cork.
Finally, point the cork away from your guests, and gently push it out of the bottle (this helps to conserve the bubbles).
Opening a bottle of bubbly the ‘hey, check it out!’ way
Sabering a bottle of champers is seriously cool, in any guy’s book. Here’s how to do it: with your thumb firmly pressed on the cork, loosen the cage and refasten it above the bottle’s lip.
Find the bottle’s seam, which runs the entire length of the glass. Make sure this is facing up and the cork is held out away from your body (with plenty of open space ahead of you). Place the saber on the seam and hold it 45 degrees to the bottle.
With one fluid motion, scrape the blade up to the lip of the bottle, and voila!
How to serve bubbly?
Use a tall, thin flute-shaped glass to enjoy your bubbly. New research suggests dimpled glass flutes could produce more bubbles in the glass, improving the overall taste of your champers and the drinking experience.
Don’t use old-fashioned coupé-shaped glasses; these simply reduce the bubbles in your bubbly, leaving it flat.