Wednesday Wine 101
Q.
Valentine’s Day is coming and I want to celebrate with some sparkling wine. How do you open a bottle without losing an eye?
A.
Excellent question.
There’s been more than one occasion when someone has nearly knocked themselves out because they’ve played fast and loose with a champers cork … and by the sheer grace of an angel on their shoulder, the speeding bullet only grazed the cheek, leaving not a trace.
Seriously, major harm can come to you if you decide to play chicken with a sparkling stopper – and there is nothing sexy about spending Valentine’s Day in the ER. (Unless you’re playing doctor, but we digress).
Now that we’ve scared the bejesus out of you, follow these relatively simple steps and you’ll be fine. And if you would like to see us in action – check out our video here.
- Remove the foil.
- Loosen the cage by twisting the wires – this will be exactly 6 twists.
- You can choose to keep the loosened cage on or remove it, but with a towel and one hand firmly over the top of the cork, and your other hand gripping the base of the bottle, twist the bottle (not the cork) until you can feel the cork start to give.
- Keep your face clear of cork and for heaven’s sake don’t aim it at anyone!
- As the cork starts to loosen, try to push against it to stop it from flying out of the bottle. You may or may not be successful depending on the pressure.
- The idea is to just let the cork ease from the bottle (they say it should make the sound of a sigh from a contented woman…) and not pop with a World Series Championship bang.
- Pour the bubbly gently into the glass and begin your celebrations.