You’ve Opened Your Champagne Bottle Wrong: The Winemaker Reveals His Six Secrets – And Why You Should Never Remove The Cage From The Cork

You’ve Opened Your Champagne Bottle Wrong: The Winemaker Reveals His Six Secrets – And Why You Should Never Remove The Cage From The Cork

An Australian winemaker has revealed the correct way to open a bottle of champagne – and his clever tip for chilling wine in the summer.

Bryan, of Lowe Family Wine Co. in Mudgee, New South Wales, shared her wealth of knowledge and said: “The cork should never pop.”

Most wine and champagne drinkers remove the cage that covers the cork before opening it, but this is a big mistake.

Wine expert Bryan of Lowe Family Wine Co in Mudgee, New South Wales shared his secrets at a tasting on Saturday (pictured)

Lowe Family Wine Co (pictured) is a three and a half hour drive from Sydney
Guests were impressed whether the cage liner was removed from the cork or a simple double bucket technique was used to chill the wine

Guests were impressed whether they removed the cage liner from the cork or used a simple double bucket technique (right) to chill the wine

Why chocolate and champagne should NEVER be combined: Sommelier reveals why the luxury treats don’t mix

Sommelier Sandia Chang, founder of online winery The Bubbleshop and co-founder of London’s two-Michelin-starred Kitchen Table, explained that chocolate’s bitterness “confuses” champagne’s acidity, meaning you can lose the taste of both.

Instead, she suggests pairing Fizz with oysters or truffle popcorn, and if you want to give your loved one chocolate, choose a sweeter fortified wine.

“I find that the bitterness in chocolate really messes up the taste of wine, and especially champagne, which has higher acidity levels,” she explained.

“Champagne and oysters go better with Valentine’s Day because the minerality of the oysters goes really well with the chalky notes of the champagne.”

“If you’re going for lobster or seafood, then a fuller champagne like Olivier Horiot, 5 Sens, Extra Brut is the perfect match.”

This is because it can be used to hold the cork better.

Next, you need to tilt the bottle slightly at an angle of 45 degrees to better distribute the alcohol and spread the pressure.

“You don’t want all the pressure behind the cork, you want to keep it in the bottle,” he said.

After a few easy twists, the cork should come out of the bottle with little noise.

Most wine and champagne drinkers remove the cage covering the cork before opening it - although this is a fatal mistake.  The winemaker revealed that the cage should never be removed as it can be used to better hold the cork

Most wine and champagne drinkers remove the cage covering the cork before opening it – although this is a fatal mistake. The winemaker revealed that the cage should never be removed as it can be used to better hold the cork

How to properly open a corked bottle

Never remove the cage – it will help you grab the cork

Tilt the bottle at an angle to distribute the wine or champagne and spread the pressure – you don’t want all the pressure behind the cork

Twist the bottle, not the cork

The cork should never come loose and blow up

Each cage over a cork has six turns

“Room temperature” usually means between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius, not Australian summer room temperature

On Saturday, the weather was over 33 degrees Celsius, which can spoil wine.  To combat this heat, the wine connoisseur used a simple double bucket technique.  The red wine bottles are placed in a large bucket around a smaller bucket full of ice and white wine (photo).

On Saturday, the weather was over 33 degrees Celsius, which can spoil wine. To combat this heat, the wine connoisseur used a simple double bucket technique. The red wine bottles are placed in a large bucket around a smaller bucket full of ice and white wine (photo).

Bryan also pointed out the proper “room temperature” for wine storage.

“Everyone says red wine should be kept at ‘room temperature,’ but no one says exactly what temperature that is,” he said, adding, “The right temperature should be around 16 to 18 degrees Celsius.”

On the day of the tasting it was 33 degrees Celsius, which can spoil wine.

To combat this heat, he used a simple but effective double bucket technique.

The red wine bottles were placed in a large bucket around a smaller bucket filled with ice and white wine.

The ice kept the white wine cool, while the air coming from the smaller bucket was also the perfect temperature to chill the red and sparkling wines.

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