How to Serve Champagne

#12daysofwinefacts

According to Moët & Chandon, you should place the bottle in a Champagne bucket, fill the bucket with one-third water and add ice cubes to the top. Leave for at least 15 minutes before serving to bring champagne to the proper temperature (8˚-9˚C/46˚-48˚F).

Your friends will be asking you so, when do we drink…

If you don’t know how to open a bottle of Champagne, take instruction here:

Opening Champagne, à la Française

(excerpt from my article in The Good Life France)

It’s a common cultural expectation to pop that bubbly with a bang, but there is a graceful way to open the bottle that won’t cause eye injury, slippery messes or embarrassment. The popping sound might be fun, but a loss of bubbles and flavor is not desirable. Easy steps:

• Have the bubbly ice-cold, the bottle towel-dried and the foil properly removed.
• Tilt the bottle away from you, at about 45 degrees. Don’t aim it at anyone or anything, just get the angle right.
• Hold the cork down with one hand and remove the wire cage with your other hand.
• After the cage is off, continue to hold the cork and use your free hand to gently twist the bottle. You’ll do this until you hear the delicate sound of air escaping as the cork frees from the bottle. There might be a little wisp of vapor.

As a reminder, a bottle should only be referred to as Champagne if it is the real deal. Other bubbly wines are called sparkling wines or have specific regional names.