1. I’ve often talked about how we serve our white wine too cold in this country, pulling and pouring straight from a super cold fridge. I use the 10 minute rule, taking my white wines out of the refrigerator a solid 10 minutes before I serve them. This allows the wine to warm up just enough that you can actually smell and taste it! (Remember, a slice of cold pizza has a lot less flavor than one you re-warm in the toaster oven!) But (and this is a BIG BUT), throw away this rule when serving sparkling wine! Serve your bubbles COLD, COLD, COLD! Straight from the ice bucket or your cold fridge. The reasons for me breaking my own rule are two-fold: first, the colder the bottle is, the less likely it is to spew its frothy mousse all over you when opening and secondly, the longer the carbonation stays in suspension in the wine.
2. Turn the bottle, not the cork. When opening a bottle of bubbly, first peel off the foil and remove the wire cage (there are exactly 6 and a half turns of the wire). Keep the bottle on a table. Throw a towel over the top of the cork (to increase friction) and apply pressure to the top of the bottle while at the same time turning the bottle from the bottom with your other hand. This will allow you to keep control over the whole process and avoid flyaway corks. As you start to feel the cork and bottle separate, keep even pressure on the cork, almost as if you don’t want it to be removed. You’ll end up with a quiet little hiss instead of a big pop, but you’ll keep the bubbly in the bottle and you’ll look like a pro!
3. Use a flute. I don’t often agree with other wine educators who insist on a proper vessel for each type of wine. I often use the same glass for my whites as I do my reds. And I have reasons why I think all of this super specific stemware stuff is a waste of time (and money!) which will have to be the topic of another blog post. But, I do believe that serving your sparkling wine out of a long, slender flute is a good idea for two major reasons. First, it allows you to observe the “bead” or the bubbles traveling the length of the glass. Big, fat clumsy bubbles are usually a sign of forced carbonation, whereas quality sparkling wine will have a speedy, continuous stream of tiny bubbles racing to the top. But perhaps most importantly, a flute will once again, allow the carbonation to remain in the wine instead of evaporating out too quickly and leaving you with a flat, unexciting experience.
4. Prime the glass. To avoid ending up with a foamy mess while pouring for your guests, it helps to first pour a few inches of bubbly into each flute to “prime” the glasses. Wait for the bubbles to subside and then it’s safe to pour the rest of the glasses without overflow.
These handy tips apply to any sparkling wines, whether you’re serving Prosecco, Cava or a real-deal bottle of Champagne. Have another question? Comment below or send me an email: jessica@winestudioasheville.com
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