How to drink champagne

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Champagne goes really well with fatty, salty foods like French fries, fried chicken, fried fish, potato chips and buttered popcorn.

So, how hard can it be to drink Champagne? All you need do is open the bottle, pour it, and drink it. Well, like most things we do, there’s a right way and a wrong way, and odds are you’re doing it the wrong way with respect to Champagne; starting with opening the bottle.

Opening a Champagne bottle is a three-step process. First, grip the neck of the bottle with your thumb on top of the cage, untwist the retaining wires and remove it. Second, holding onto the cork (a towel will improve your grip), twist the bottle (not the cork) to free the cork. Third, use your hand to control the cork as it comes out. Remove the cork slowly with as little of a pop as possible. Not as dramatic as a popping cork, bouncing off the ceiling, but much better for the Champagne as well as any onlookers.

Don’t use Champagne flutes. The newest thing in Champagne service is a return to the standard white wine glass. After all, Champagne is just white wine with bubbles. Granted, the flute will make the bubbles last a bit longer, but the white wine glass will allow more of the wine’s aromas to be released, significantly enhancing the taste of the wine. You will also get more wine with each pour.

Pouring Champagne is a two-step process. Initially pour only a small amount into the glass and wait for the bubbles to subside. Now pour the rest of the serving. You’ll notice the bubbles are now much better behaved than on that initial pour, preventing the Champagne from overflowing the glass. Fill the glass only one-third full so all of the wine can be drunk before it loses its chill.

Be sure and hold the Champagne glass by the stem, never the bowl. Proper temperature (7 to 9 °C – 45 to 48 °F) is very important to Champagne, so you want to protect it from the warmth of your hand. Besides, holding the glass by the bowl makes it difficult to appreciate the bubbles and covers the bowl with fingerprints as well.

Drink Champagne with French fries. That’s right; Champagne is not just for formal dinners or to drink with caviar. Likewise, it’s not meant to be restricted to formal occasions and celebrations. Again, Champagne is just white wine with bubbles and it goes really, really well with salty, fatty foods like French fries, fried fish, fried chicken, buttered popcorn and potato chips.

So what do you do with your leftover Champagne? Excusing the fact that you shouldn’t have any leftover Champagne, if for some reason you do, fit it with a stopper designed for a Champagne bottle and store it in the coldest part of your refrigerator. I must say however, you will be disappointed when you open the bottle the second time. Even though you will likely hear a pop, don’t think that means the Champagne is still good.

I’ve never managed to keep Champagne for even 24 hours and have it maintain its crispness and flavor.

From WineTimeNewsletter.com