How to get the right sound when opening Champagne, and why it matters
Opening a bottle of champagne is good for your health, but what's the best way? There's no doubt that it's fun to send a Champagne cork soaring, whether that's with your hand or with a spectacular sabring of the bottle. But if you're more interested in enjoying the Champagne than putting on a show, there are 3 reasons to restrain yourself.
1. Preserving the bubbles
The louder the pop, the more rapid the escape of pressure in the bottle. That can lead to carbonation levels falling significantly faster than a slower release of the pressure. The aromas and flavours of Champagne are definitely best enjoyed with a good level of effervescence (you've probably tasted the difference in a glass or bottle that has gone flat because it has been sitting out for a while), so this is the key reason to slow down that final step of opening a Champagne bottle.
2. Preserving the wine
At some stage most people have had the misfortune of opening a bottle of Champagne and having some amount of the wine spill out. That's very closely related to reason number one. A rapid release of pressure is more likely to release enough of the carbonation for the wine to fizz and overflow. Champagne drinkers are usually advised to have a glass nearby to catch that overflow, but if you can control the cork release, the chances of your Champagne overflowing are reduced dramatically. That is, assuming the bottle is cold and hasn't been shaken before opening!
3. Safety
The pressure inside a bottle of Champagne is around 3 times higher than that in a typical car tyre. That's means it's uncontrolled release can see the cork ejected at a speed of up to 40km/h. It can do some serious damage (to eyes in particular), so from the moment the cage around the cork is loosened, you should treat the bottle like a loaded gun. Controlling the release of the cork with your hand on top of it ensures the safest outcome. (Ok so you wouldn't do that with a gun, but you know what we mean)
So, if you're now on board with the goal of a gentle release of pressure, how is that best achieved? Again, we have 3 key points to cover.
1. Keep a grip on the cage covered cork
As mentioned above, as soon as the foil is removed and the cage around the cork is loosened, you need to be in control of the cork. The best way to do that is to leave the cage on and grip that instead of the bare cork. If you remove the cage, it's hard not to let go of the cork for a brief moment, and that might be all it takes for it to fly off. The cage also gives you a better grip for the next step.
2. Twist to loosen the cork
If the cork isn't already working its way out, twist the bottle in a circular motion to reduce the friction between the bottle and cork. Science nerds may want to read up on the 'Jost effect' to understand how this happens. The accepted wisdom is to twist with the bottle hand rather than the cork hand (so you can focus on controlling the cork's release with that hand), but we've never really found there to be much difference and we've seen plenty of Champenois turning the cork hand, so we're in good company.
3. Apply pressure in the right direction
Once the cork is loosened and you start to feel it pushing out of the bottle neck, your instinct might be to pull the cork away from the bottle (that is the end goal right?). But in fact, the opposite is the best approach. As soon as you feel movement, start to apply downward pressure to the cork to slow and control it's release. You might even tilt it to one side to allow just a very small area through which the pressure is able to escape.
Otherwise, like most things in life, practice is the key, so go grab a bottle or two and try out these tips!