How to open champagne correctly for the New Year. Champagne and celebration

Almost all festive events are accompanied by drinking champagne. However, due to the fact that few people know how to open champagne correctly, the holiday can be ruined. Seething foam escaping from a bottle can refresh those present, and a bottle cap can break a chandelier or hit a guest. In addition, foaming champagne significantly loses its taste. Therefore, knowing how to open a bottle of champagne correctly can make you the center of attention at any celebration and add to your authority.

How to open champagne without shooting?

Most often, champagne is opened in the most famous way - “hussar”. However, this option is considered a sign of bad taste. When the bottle is opened correctly, a soft pop should be heard and light smoke visible. Bartenders ideally use this method of uncorking champagne bottles. They can give us recommendations on how to open champagne correctly and carefully. Based on their advice, you should do this:

The drink should be cooled to 6-8 degrees before opening. This will help you open the bottle safely and improve the taste and aroma of the drink. To do this, place a bottle of champagne in a bucket with cold water and ice or on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. In a bucket of water, champagne will cool down in half an hour, and in the refrigerator - in 3-4 hours. Therefore, if there is no ice for cooling, the drink should be given the required temperature in advance. Under no circumstances should the drink be refrigerated freezer, since this causes it to lose its effervescent properties.
After the wine bottle is removed from the refrigerator or bucket of water, it should be wiped dry and wrapped in a towel or napkin. This is necessary so that it is convenient to hold the bottle, which becomes covered with condensation when it comes from a cold place to a warm one.
The bottle should be tilted. Before opening, the bottle must be tilted approximately 40 degrees and to the side where there are no people, in case of unsuccessful opening. IN closed container sparkling champagne creates a pressure of 6-7 atmospheres, which is 2-3 times higher than the pressure in car tires. With the correct tilt, the main pressure will be on the shoulders of the bottle, and not on the neck with the stopper.
It is necessary to remove the foil and unwind the muzzle (wire). The muzle is always twisted six turns. This must be done carefully, without shaking the bottle.
The main step in the guide on how to properly open a bottle of champagne is removing the cork. It must be clamped tightly and then begin to rotate the bottle until the stopper is released from the clamp. Now you can tilt the bottle to release the gas. After this, remove the plug. There should be a light pop and gentle smoke. Sometimes the cortical plug breaks. In this case, you will have to use a corkscrew next.
Pour into glasses. Champagne is poured into glasses slowly. Especially if it was poorly refrigerated. Sour dry champagne is poured into thin tall glasses, and sweet champagne is poured into wide glasses.

When is the right time to open champagne for the New Year?

Special traditions about when New Year open champagne, does not exist. This question is based only on considerations of convenience. Since a bottle of champagne cannot be opened in a hurry, it is better to do this five to ten minutes before the chimes strike. After carefully opening the bottle, the drink is poured into beautiful glasses, filling them two-thirds, and waiting for the chimes to begin. With the first strikes of the chimes they make a wish

The main attributes of the New Year are a Christmas tree and, of course, festive table, on which there must be traditional drink- champagne. However, many still do not know how to properly open a bottle of foam, reports Today.kz.

Aerobatics is to uncork it with a light clap, when instead of foam a gentle smoke rises.

But there are a few more secrets. It turns out that champagne must be cooled to six to eight degrees before the feast. True, experts do not recommend doing this using a freezer. This is harmful to champagne and it may lose its effervescent charm. It is better to place the bottle in a bucket of ice or on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for several hours. For those who don’t have a bucket, you can simply put the bottle on the balcony.

Before uncorking, the bottle must be tilted at approximately 40-45 degrees and rest the bottom against a hard surface.

There is very high pressure in a bottle of sparkling wine - about 67 atmospheres. This is twice the pressure in a car tire. When tilted, the main blow of gases will fall on the shoulders of the bottle - the place where the neck begins. But if you hold the container straight, all the atmospheres will hit the cork.

How far to tilt the bottle can be easily determined visually: if the bottle is tilted correctly, the champagne will be about a centimeter away from the cork.

To securely hold the bottle, you can wrap it in a napkin to prevent it from slipping out. When opening the champagne, it is important not to shake it, otherwise the cork may pop. A strong pop looks impressive, but indicates that the sparkling wine has not been opened correctly. In addition, splashes can dirty others. It is not the cork that needs to be twisted, but the bottle.

Bang-bang - and the cork breaks out of the bottle, followed by sweet foam that floods everything around... Anyone can open champagne using the favorite “hussar” method. But shooting traffic jams is not our method. Aerobatics is to open champagne with a light pop, when gentle smoke rises from the bottle instead of foam.

He tells and shows how to open champagne according to all the rules of etiquette sommelier of the Blue Cat restaurant Anton Pavlov.

Cool down

To successfully open the bottle, it must be well cooled in a cooler (champagne bucket), where cold water is poured and ice is poured. Cooling only in ice is less effective. If these conditions are met, the champagne will cool to the desired temperature (6-8 degrees) in about half an hour.

If you are short on time, you forgot to put champagne in the cooler before the holiday, or guests just brought the bottle, the process can be speeded up. Method one: put it in the freezer. But this is harmful to champagne; if it stays in the freezer, it may lose its effervescent charm. The second method is to add a few tablespoons of salt to the cooler. This will speed up the cooling process and the champagne will be “ready” much faster.

Tilt

To open champagne, the bottle must be tilted at approximately 40 degrees. The fact is that there is very high pressure in a bottle of sparkling wine, about 6-7 atmospheres. For comparison, the pressure in a car tire is 2-3 atmospheres. If the bottle is tilted, the main impact will be on the shoulders, the place where the bottle neck begins. If you hold it straight, all the atmospheres will hit the cork.

And, of course, you should never point the neck of the bottle at people or breakable objects.

Rotate

First you need to remove the foil and the mezle - the wire that holds the cork, it, by the way, is always twisted 6 turns. Then firmly hold the cork with one hand and rotate the bottle with the other, gradually rocking the cork. When you feel like it’s going, you tilt the bottle a little and the gas goes down. In the end, you open the bottle with a characteristic very light pop, and smoke comes out of it.

Pour into a glass

This must be done slowly so that the foam does not overflow. If the champagne is properly chilled, then everything will be fine. If you can’t cool it down, then it’s better to tilt the glass a little and pour the wine along its wall, also slowly.

If you are a connoisseur, gourmet and connoisseur, then you know everything yourself, and these tips will not be useful to you. They are more likely for those who just want to choose a decent bottle of sparkling wine for reasonable money.

Champagne wines are only those produced in France, in the Champagne region. Real French champagne is very expensive, and if you are not ready to shell out 5 thousand or more per bottle, then it is better to turn your attention to sparkling wines from other countries. At your service are the New World, South Africa, Australia, California - all these countries produce sparkling wines using the same technology as in Champagne. And a good sparkling wine costs 600-800 rubles in a mid-range store. To be sure of quality, look for the inscription on the label: méthode classique or méthode traditionnel. This means that the sparkling wine is made using classic French technology from the same grape varieties that are used in Champagne.

Spanish sparkling wines - cava and Italian prosecco - are very good. For them, other grape varieties are used (mainly local, autochthonous), and these wines are produced using different technologies, for the most part they are of quite high quality and tasty. Many value them even higher than classic champagne wines.

There are also French sparkling wines - Cremant. To this word on the label is usually added the name of the area where the wine was produced: Crémant d'Alsase, that is, crémant from Alsace, etc. Crémants are, of course, more expensive than New World sparkling wines, but they are protected by name, their production is strictly controlled by the French authorities, and in general these are excellent wines, although not as popular as champagnes.

Happy New Year, friends!

New Year without champagne is the same as a wedding night without a bride :), and in order for the most beloved Russian holiday to succeed, we will find out how to choose champagne for the New Year? After reading, you will learn what you need to pay attention to when buying sparkling wine, what it is like, how to open it correctly and what to eat.

So, I consider the New Year's food fast open.

How to choose champagne for the New Year? Everything you need to know.

Let me describe the scenario for the beginning of the New Year celebrations for the majority of Russian citizens. It all starts a few days before the main event and usually with the purchase of gifts and gastronomy. The whole family goes to the market, to a large grocery store and stocks up with food for New Year's vacations. After the issue with the initial ingredients has been resolved, the stage of planing salads begins - Olivier, mimosa, herring under a fur coat what disgusting thing is yours jellied fish What housewife is not familiar with these names. Then there is a beautiful table setting with Soviet films and a languid wait for midnight, as a signal to absorb everything that has been done. The countdown begins with the president's speech and the raising of glasses of champagne as the chimes strike. It turns out that we are celebrating the New Year with this sparkling drink, and in order for the meeting to be a success, today we will learn the science of how to choose champagne.

Note:

For better assimilation of the material, all further narration will be divided into subchapters.

What is champagne?

Many people consider champagne to be a separate group alcoholic drinks, like beer or vodka, however, it belongs to the class of sparkling low-alcohol wines made (ideally) from grape pulp. The name “champagne” itself comes from the birthplace (place of creation) of the drink, France, the province of Champagne.

Composition, nutritional and energy value

It is worth noting that champagne is considered an elite drink, and its real version should not contain anything other than grape juice. Such copies can be purchased in special wine shops or directly from the sommelier. On domestic shelves, conditionally, champagne may contain (and most often present) sugar, alcohol, food colorings, flavorings and taste enhancers, in other words, various food additives.

The standard composition of most types of domestically produced champagne looks like this:

table wine material;
sugar;
acidity regulator – citric acid;
antioxidant – sulfur dioxide;

If you have already purchased a couple of bottles of champagne, study their label, you will probably find the indicated components. And this serves as an indicator that you have pseudo-champagne in your hands, or rather the fruit of the joint efforts of the food and chemical industries.

Concerning energy value product on 100 ml, then it is as follows:

proteins – 0,2 gr ( 1 kcal);
fats – 0 G;
carbohydrates - 5 gr ( 20 kcal);
calorie content – 77-94 kcal

The benefits and harms of champagne

Because grapes are the starting material, then, to some extent, champagne has equivalent healing properties red wines In other words, sparkling wine, due to the presence of natural antioxidants, fights free radicals (removes them), helps reduce blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart disease. However, due to the different production technology of champagne, it contains significantly less of these substances and the effects on the human body are much weaker than those of its fellow wine.

Due to its low calorie content, many consider champagne to be a dietary product. In fact, the numbers are not the main thing here, the main thing is the presence of energetically saturated alcohols in sparkling wine, which have an extremely negative effect on the human body/well-being. Champagne on an empty stomach increases the acidity of the stomach and causes irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, so only aristocrats or degenerates drink it in the morning :).

Due to the increased carbonation of the drink, the food that follows does not have the opportunity to be properly digested, and the process of fermentation/rotting of food in the stomach occurs, with all the ensuing consequences. Therefore, champagne cannot be consumed with classic New Year's dishes.

Another additional disadvantage after drinking a couple of glasses is loss of energy, yawning and tendency to sleep (more common in women).

Classification of champagne: types and varieties

It is customary to classify champagne according to the grape variety, sugar content, harvest year and the characteristics of the production of the drink. We, as ordinary buyers, have no need to go into detail, and therefore the most general classification can be presented as follows.

So, we now have some idea about champagne, and it’s time to get down to the practical side of the issue, namely...

How to choose champagne? Practical buyer's guide.

Below you will find basic tips on the basis of which you can understand what kind of bottle you have in front of you and whether it is worth taking.

No. 1. Price per bottle

Usually our citizens buy champagne in full, i.e. 1-2 bottles are not an option for us. Therefore, decide on your goals, if we need cheap and a lot, then your price range starts from 150 and ends 300 rubles per bottle. However, in this case, there is no talk of any naturalness and closeness to the original. (real champagne) Needless to say, you get the quality you pay for.

If your goal is to enjoy the drink, to please someone dear to you, then the cost per bottle starts from 500 and ends 2000 rubles Everything that goes above this price tag belongs to the VIP category and is only for connoisseurs and gourmets and is unlikely to be appreciated by “mere mortals”.

Note:

The most expensive champagne in the world 1907 year, found on the Titanic, its value is 10 one thousand dollars.

2. Russian or foreigner?

On store shelves you can find both products from a local manufacturer (Russia) - Russian/Soviet and other champagne, as well as foreign brands - Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Mumm and Pierre Jodet. The question arises, who should be preferred? There can be no definite answer here, and everyone must make a decision for themselves. As food for thought, it is worth saying that foreign concerns supply low-quality champagne to Russia, while high-quality champagne is sold on the domestic market. Domestic manufacturers do not mess around with quality and try to comply with all technological standards, which are monitored by the relevant research institutes. Those. Perhaps the taste of Russian sparkling wines is inferior to foreign analogues, but for the content of the bottle (the presence of only the required components in it), for the most part, they try to answer.

The sugar content is usually reflected on the bottle label with the inscriptions - Brut Zero, Brut, Demi-sec, Doux. This sequence indicates an increase in sugar in each subsequent position (the first option is the most unsweetened). It all depends on your taste preferences. The most popular sparkling wine is Brut. Usually people prefer sweeter champagne and it has to do with biochemistry. In particular, the receptors responsible for sweet taste are located at the very tip of the tongue; they are the very first to be perceived. Sugar penetrates the blood very quickly and begins to “warm” with alcohol, i.e. sugar catalyzes the effect of alcohol, accelerating a person’s warming, so many (without knowing why) prefer sweeter champagne.

4. Reverse side“medals” - label

Typically, champagne bottles are made from dark-colored glass. (because upon contact with sunlight the drink becomes bitter), so all that remains for the buyer is to study the external content of the product, i.e. label. Remember, “Russian champagne” is made according to GOST 5116 , “Soviet champagne” according to GOST 13918 .

Note:

GOST 31730-2012 (for example, at the current Soviet champagne, Rosinka plant)– assigned to products of the wine industry, sparkling wine/technical conditions and can also appear on a bottle of “correct” champagne. Although we know that calling a drink champagne is only possible if it is made in France.

The remaining GOSTs written on the bottle label correspond to the class of wines/wine materials. In other words, if the bottle contains GOSTs different from those indicated, then this is an imitation of champagne.

The label of “correct” champagne (and not only) must contain the following information:

information about the manufacturer - for example, JSC Champagne Wine Factory “Name”;
date/place of bottling, batch number, expiration date;
aging (optional) – indicates that the champagne was aged before sale;

Must not be:

information on dyes, flavors and other food additives;
the inscription “carbonated wine” indicates that the champagne has not been fermented, but has been artificially enriched with carbon dioxide.

5. Cork

Of course, no one will allow you to open the wrapper to see what kind of cork is on the bottle, but this is not necessary. Bottles with cork stoppers give themselves away because they have a large top/cap on top; these are the kind of stoppers used in high-quality wines. A plastic stopper is an indicator of the “crapiness” of champagne.

The following reminders will help us summarize all of the above (clickable).

These are the basic tips to follow when choosing quality champagne.

How to open champagne correctly?

Once on New Year's Day, I very sensibly opened champagne - the cork hit the chandelier, and the entire table with salads was filled with foamy splashes :(, in general, New Year's Eve began with a bang! To prevent such incidents from happening to you, always keep the following reminder at hand .

Note:

Champagne in a bottle is under pressure 5-6 atmospheres that 3 times the pressure inside a car tire, and the cork can fly out of the bottle at a speed 120 km/h

How to properly store champagne?

The ideal storage method is to reseal the bottle with a cork, preferably a cork one. (naturally smaller diameter). Champagne should be placed horizontally (so that there is contact between the wine and the cork), not vertically. Optimal temperature storage is 7-12 degrees. Of course, few people comply with these conditions, so at least follow the minimum program - prepare thick paper and, immediately after spilling, cap the bottle and place it in a cold place, for example, near the balcony.

What do you serve with champagne?

I must say what’s here, who’s doing what. It is generally accepted that fruit should be served with champagne. (pineapple, tangerines), chocolate or olives. This is not true, brut champagne is optimally combined with seafood (sashimi, carpaccio), oysters, lobsters, shrimp, hard cheeses (parmesan, cheddar), light salads without mayonnaise, mushrooms, almonds, popcorn and non-sweet dessert are also suitable (shortbread, cupcake, lemon pie). If the champagne is semi-dry, then it goes well with cold cuts of meat/cheese, sandwiches with caviar and lightly smoked fish. (for example, salmon).

You should not eat champagne, i.e. The plan for drinking it correctly is this. The chimes finished striking, you drained your glass, then put, for example, a sandwich with red caviar into your stomach and waited for a few minutes. 10-15 before eating the main courses. Then you can lean on salads, like Olvier, but don’t touch the champagne, i.e. Do not drink food with it like regular juice. Carbon dioxide combined with salad dressings (mayonnaise, sauces) - It's just a bomb for the stomach.

By the way, if we started talking about Olivier, then classic recipe (from chef Lucien Olivier) The salad looks like this.

So, now let's look at specific manufacturers and products and find out...

Which champagne is best to put on the table?

Surely, you will find practical information more interesting than dry theory, so now we will find out which champagne from Russian stores is the best sparkling drink” :).

If we consider the champagne market as a whole, the main producers in the Russian Federation are:

OJSC “Tsimlyansk Wines”;
CJSC Abrau-Durso;
“Milstream – Black Sea Wines”;
Fanagoria – brands “Fanagoria”, “NR”;
"Kuban-Vino" - brands "Chateau Tamagne Reserve";
“Moet & Chandon”, “Veuve Clicquot”, “Louis Roederer”, “Mumm” - French products on Russian markets.

The counters of domestic alcohol stores are filled with the products of these brands.

As for specific products, the Russian Institute of Consumer Testing (RIPI) will help us identify the top best sparkling wines. It was they who carried out the appropriate tests of wine products, and it is on the basis of their examination data that we will be able to make right choice sparkling drink for the festive table.

To determine whether champagne is real or not, you need to find out how it was produced. Total exists 3 production method is:

classic (manual), secondary fermentation (champagne). Sugar and yeast are added to bottled wine and it begins to re-ferment, producing carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide);
industrial - during fermentation, the wine reaches its condition in large containers and is then bottled;
artisanal - wine material is saturated with industrial carbon dioxide.

Laboratory tests can determine whether carbon dioxide in bottles is a product of secondary fermentation (and then it's real champagne) or comes from industrial sources (false champagne).

The experimental samples were chosen 8 the most democratic and popular models of sparkling wines, and here are the results obtained (clickable).

So, the top three best champagnes look like this:

Abrau-Durso, Russian semi-sweet white champagne, JSC "Abrau-Durso";
Artemovskoye, aged semi-sweet white, PJSC "Artemovsk Winery", Artemovsk;
Russian champagne/Moskovskoye, semi-dry white, Moscow Champagne Wine Factory OJSC.

Well, now you know what you can do beautifully for the New Year :), the only thing left is to wait for this action. We're done with the substantive part, let's summarize.

Afterword

On this New Year's day, we looked at how to choose champagne; this is not quite a nutritious note, but rather a boozy one, but this does not make its value any less. And yes, as for Prohibition, I think once a year we can afford to indulge in champagne?? (hic,...hic) .

PS. That’s all, I consider the training posts closed this year, all that remains is to sum up the year’s results and congratulate us, and we will start doing this on Monday, until we get in touch!

P.P.S. Attention! Submission forms for creating a personal training and nutrition program will be available starting from 17.01.2016 .

The main attributes of the New Year are a Christmas tree and, of course, a festive table, on which there must be a traditional drink - champagne. However, many still do not know how to properly open a bottle of foam, reports.

Aerobatics is to uncork it with a light clap, when instead of foam a gentle smoke rises.

Before uncorking, the bottle must be tilted at approximately 40-45 degrees and rest the bottom against a hard surface.

How far to tilt the bottle can be easily determined visually: if the bottle is tilted correctly, the champagne will be about a centimeter away from the cork.