Dos and Don’ts of Drinking Champagne

Pop a bottle and toast to the occasion. That’s all there is to drinking champagne, right? Well, not really. Did you know that there is a right and wrong way to drink bubbly?

365 drinks—your one-stop online alcohol store—gives you the low-down on the dos and don’ts of drinking this highly sophisticated beverage. Before you buy champagne online, it pays learning about things you might be doing wrong when going through your celebratory bottle:

Do: Serve your favourite champagne in a wine glass.
While flutes are a common recommendation for serving champagne because they can keep your sparkling wine bubbling for longer, they are great for just that—showing off the wine’s bubbles. Flutes don’t provide the best taste for champagne because they don’t allow the wine to open up quite right. Wider wine glasses give the taste of champagne enough space to develop, although they tend to let the bubbling fizzle out more quickly than your narrower, tapered flute.

Don’t: Chill the glasses in the refrigerator.
Chilling your wine glass may seem like a sensible way to keep your drink cool. However, this trick can add as much as 0.5% water to your drink, diluting its contents. If you want to keep your champagne pure, refrain from chilling your wine glass before a drink.

Do: Hold your champagne glass by the stem.
Be careful not to hold the ball of the glass as this would cause the heat of your hands to warm up the glass contents. This applies to any beverage you drink out of a wine glass. Warm champagne won’t taste as good as a perfectly chilled drink. Keep your hands away from the bowl of the champagne glass by holding it by the stem.

Don’t: Pop the cork.
Isn’t the essence of champagne in that satisfyingly loud pop of the bottle’s cork? No—not if you want to be safe. Twisting the cork off ever so gently is the proper way to open your champagne. You’ll save yourself or some guest in your party the painful trip to Urgent Care and still get that satisfying popping sound everyone’s anticipating from the celebratory drink (though not as loud). A safe way to open your champagne bottle is with a twisting motion and the added protection of a towel or napkin, with the bottle tilted away from anyone. Make sure the path of the cork is clear before opening the bottle.

Do: Chill the champagne bottle—never freeze.
Limit the amount of time that your champagne stays inside the fridge. You may store your bottles standing up inside the fridge for up to a few weeks, but keep them resting on their side if you wish to store them beyond a few weeks. Find a cool and dry place away from any direct light when storing champagne for much longer.

Don’t: Freeze champagne.
Keeping your champagne cold inside the fridge is enough to ensure a satisfying temperature upon serving. Never freeze champagne to make it cold or to speed up cooling, as this could reduce the champagne’s bubbles and affect the wine’s overall taste. Champagne is best served chilled by leaving the bottle in the fridge a few hours before opening. Once opened, you can keep the bottle cool by storing it in a bucket of ice and water.

Do: Fill your wine glass slowly.

This will help the foam settle and prevent the glass from overflowing. A fast pour also wastes a lot of those pretty champagne bubbles. Fill your wine glass up to the same amount you would with your favourite wine.

Don’t: Take things too seriously.
Learn the rules by heart so you can break them to fit your preferences. There are no hard and fast rules to enjoying your favourite drink. The best way to enjoy champagne or any other wine is to do so in the presence of your favourite people.