Champagne Primer

Valentine's Day is a perfect day to treat you and your special someone to a delicious sparkling wine. Whether you are drinking Champagne, Prosecco or Cava, it is a lovely way to celebrate this Valentine's Day. Sparklers are good for a before dinner toast as well as a perfect pairing to simple desserts like chocolate covered strawberries.

Many people are a bit afraid of Champagne and other sparklers because they are a little leery of opening the bottle. However, unless your goal is to spray someone with bubbly or launch the cork into outer space, opening up a Champagne bottle isn't a dramatic event. Wilton Wine Shoppe is here to help you harness your inner 'savoir faire' and to help make celebrating Valentine's Day more fun.

First of all, you need to know that the 'pop' of the champagne cork should not be a big pop like you hear in the movies. If you are doing it right, it will sound more like an 'angel's sigh.' VERY IMPORTANT: Never use a corkscrew on a Champagne or other sparkling bottle of wine. You could seriously hurt yourself.

Here is a step by step guide on how to open a bottle of bubbly:

1. Most bottles of sparkling wine come with a foil wrapped around the outside of the metal cage of the cork. To remove it, tilt the bottle away from your face - and NOT toward anyone else - and peel off the foil. Fun fact: In days of yore, the foil was lined with lead to keep the mice away.

2. From this point onward, it is imperative that you keep the bottle tipped away from you and others. Keep your non-dominant thumb on the top of the cork and metal cage. You want to be sure the cork hasn't loosened in the bottle over time.

3. Twist the wire table on the cage and remove it. Again, be sure to keep your thumb on the top of the cork and pointed away from everyone, including yourself. It is a good idea to place a towel on to of the cork from this point on, with your hand over the towel.

4. At this point, grasp the cork over the towel with your non-dominant hand and your dominant hand at the base of the bottle. This part is key: Turn the bottle to loosen the cork not the cork itself. The cork should ease off, not pop off. The noise should sound more like a 'whoopf' than a pop. Pour and enjoy in a champagne flute.

For more information like this, go to Wilton Wine Shoppe.