Impress your friends the next time you open that bottle of bubbly with tips from the pros. And you can’t get more professional than Vitalie Taittinger, President of Champagne Taittinger in Reims, France. You may have opened dozens of bottles of Champagne, but we bet you’ll learn something new from Vitalie.
Even if you’ve opened a thousand bottles of Champagne (lucky you), here are some facts to keep in mind to remind you why you need unwavering confidence in opening that sparkling wine.
- A Champagne bottle is under roughly three times as much pressure as a car tire.
- While popping sparkling wine can be fun, the cork can leave a bottle flying (some say up to 55 miles per hour). Ophthalmologists warn of serious eye injuries that can even result in blindness every year prior to New Year’s Eve.
- The longest recorded cork flight happened in New York State at 177 feet and 9 inches in 1988. That’s longer than the Wright brothers’ first flight of 120 feet, and far enough to put out multiple eyes.
- According to some sources, there are anywhere from 20 million to 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne. You want to control those bubbles!
- A standard-sized glass of Champagne emits 30 bubbles every second.
And finally, you’ll want to learn how to open Champagne with aplomb and panache, because…
- “Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” Mark Twain
Further tips on becoming a Champagne pro
The fun just doesn’t stop after you pop the bubbly (ask Tina Turner or Winston Churchill).
- Pour yourself a glass and take a quick trip through history: Coupe d’état – The History behind the Quintessential Champagne Glass
- If you’re side-eyeing how to say “Brut Folies de la Marquetterie,” this is for you: The Complete Pronunciation Guide to Champagne Taittinger
- What Makes Champagne Sparkle Like None Other: for your basic Champagne facts
- Champagne Wishes and New Year Dreams: a guide to NYE Champagne and food pairings
- More tips on How Not to Knock Out the Chandelier (or Someone’s Eye!) with Champagne
- Champagne Picks for Every Kind of New Year Celebration: recommendations from sommelier Chantelle Pabros
- And when you’re done, be sure to test yourself with this Sparkling Wine Quiz.
