At a festive moment, many people prefer ordinary wines to champagne, and not at all because of their taste preferences, but only because of the fear of splashing foam on the atmosphere and guests. In fact, it is not difficult to open a bottle with a drink under pressure, the main thing is to follow the technology and have a firm hand.
Preparing for the opening of champagne
A couple of hours before the expected opening of the bottle, it must be cooled to a temperature of about 6 ° C. To do this, it can be placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or covered with ice. Champagne should not be exposed to too low temperatures or frozen altogether - its taste will noticeably decrease. Cooling helps to reduce the amount of gases in the liquid.
Since the glass will fog up from being in the refrigerator, the bottle will have to be wrapped with a pre-prepared napkin, which will still come in handy at the time of opening. When delivering alcohol from the kitchen to the living room, it must not be shaken, otherwise all preparations will be in vain.
Champagne opening technology
The pressure in a bottle of a sparkling drink is 2-3 times higher than the same parameter in car wheels, therefore, handling it should be very careful. Do not remove the plug with a corkscrew - this action can prevent the pressure from escaping through the neck and cause the glass vessel to explode.
First, remove the foil, while trying not to shake the champagne once again. When starting the muzle - wire wrapping, the bottle must be positioned with the neck away from you at an angle of 45 degrees. This is necessary to partially relieve the pressure on the tapering part of the bottle, since its force is directed upward. The cork should be placed against the wall, away from fragile items and crowded guests. Its speed at the time of the shot reaches 120 km / h - a good reason to stay away from its trajectory.
Holding the cork with your finger, the muselé is carefully removed from under it, after which the neck is covered with a napkin - it will also slow down the shot and protect the guests from splashing if something goes wrong. It is necessary to firmly grasp the cork with your fingers and start rotating the bottle. When you feel that the cork is pushing forward under the action of pressure, you need to slightly push it to one side with your finger (to release gases outward), loosen the grip and allow it to slide out of the neck, while a light pop or a slight hiss should be heard.
Other methods
The historically established way of opening champagne is to strike hard with a saber or other sharp blade. A modern alternative to these tools is the spoon. The preparation is the same as in the previous method, however, after removing the muselle, a blade or cutlery is placed on the neck of the bottle strictly perpendicularly. Having made several test lunges, it is necessary to knock down the expanded part of the neck together with the cork with a clear confident movement and wait for the foam to come out, taking with it possible fragments.
