The holidays are here, and champagne will be flowing at the upcoming Christmas parties. Let me tell you how to open a bottle of champagne without injury or lawsuits which could ruin your otherwise festive occasion. To be serious, keep the top of the bottle pointed away from any bystanders or breakables, as a champagne cork can fly out of the bottle at an amazing speed.
There are two ways to open the champagne bottle after the wine braces have been pushed down gently from the cork.
The first and most fool proof way to open champagne is, to grip the cork firmly with one hand, and the bottle, wrapped in a tea towel, in the other hand.
While keeping as stationary as possible, use the hand holding the cork to gently but firmly turn the cork around and around while gently pulling it up at the same time with each turn. This allows the pressure in the bottle to be more slowly released than in the second method, and will result in fewer accidents of flying corks.
The second way, for those with a good strong arm, is to grasp the cork firmly with one hand while pulling the bottle firmly away with the other hand. Keep a dish or tea towel around the bottle to avoid slippage. If this does not work, or the top of the cork should break off, use a corkscrew to carefully remove the rest of the cork.
Have champagne glasses at the ready so as not to waste a drop of the precious bubbly which will be in rush to leave the bottle.
