When opening a bottle of prosecco, cava or champagne, you should always be careful: a cork can quickly slip and injure someone. What is the safest way to uncork a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine to prevent this? And how is it that such a cork hits so hard? Sommelier Iphy Dubois of Bar Brut and science expert Martijn Peters explain.
Uncorking a bottle is often an exciting and joyful moment during a party, and during the end of the year more than one usually pops open anyway. Cozy, that popping sound, and nice what you get out of it, but it can cause accidents. “The cork can explode at a speed of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour,” says science expert Martijn Peters. “A runaway bottle cap can easily break glass, but also your eye socket. For example, doctors sometimes see people come in with bleeding or a detached retina. So the message is to be careful.”
How come champagne bottles contain so much pressure? “The pressure is created by the carbon dioxide in the sparkling wine, the gas that creates the bubbles,” Martijn explains further. “How high it is depends on the type of sparkling wine. For a prosecco this is around 3.5 bar, but for a champagne it can easily be 6 bar. That is three times as much as in our car tires. The speed at which such a cork comes out can therefore be so high. Please note: if the temperature of the bottle rises or if you shake it, that speed can increase even more.” So it is important to handle it with care.
Step by step: how do you safely uncork a champagne bottle?
To put that caution first, we enlist the help of sommelier Iphy Dubois of wine bar Bar Brut. “Champagne or sparkling wine are like babies,” says Iphy Dubois of the Antwerp store Bar Brut. “You have to treat the bottles with love. First and foremost, as Martijn says, it is important that you do not shake the bottle to avoid extra pressure. It is best to first put the bottle in an ice bucket with plenty of water and ice cubes, and then take it out slowly. Then find the lip of the foil and remove the foil from the cork. Then only the iron casing and the cork itself remain. We call that iron casing a musulet. You open it slowly, while keeping the thumb of your other hand pressed on the cork with the muselet.” This way you could easily remove the iron braid. Keep your thumb on the cork immediately afterwards.
According to the rules of the art, uncorking is not done with a ‘pop’, but with a ‘sigh’
Finally, it is time for the ultimate moment: the uncorking itself. “Never point the bottle at yourself,” warns Dubois. “And putting the bottle on the floor like Girly did is never a good idea. It is better to hold the bottle at a slight angle and keep your thumb on the cork. Place your other fingers around the neck of the bottle. The latter is important to prevent flying corks. Then turn the bottle with your other hand to let the cork come out by itself. According to the rules of the art, this is not done with a ‘pop’, but with a ‘sigh’ or a breath. Also, hold both the bottle and the glass at an angle below 45 degrees while you pour.” This way you will succeed without any problems in the future.
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