Wine Video FAQs: How to open a bottle of bubbly

[Robin Garr]

BTW, and OT, does anyone have any opinion on upgrading XP Home SP1 to SP2? I have resited doing this due to some of the horror stories that were around in the early days of SP2. Is it worth the effort? There seems to be a lot of newer software being produced now that needs SP2, such as MS Windows Media Player 11.

I agree with Randy on this, Neil. I, too, resisted SP2 for a long time because of those horror stories, but I succumbed to MS's automated entreaties and let it install after a few months. It was fine. It appeared to be the usual situation of MicroSoft releasing software that should really be in late beta and letting consumers do the final testing. Once past that stage, there was no problem, and as you note, more and more software requires it. I expect there are some security issues too.

Robin, after upgrading to the most recent MIE, the videos run just fine.

I enjoyed your video [and that fleeting cat glimpse] -- the camera loves you, buddy -- it captures you beautifully.

You might consider beefing up the safety issues a little more, given your role as an online teacher/wine guru.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology puts out an annual warning about the dangers of opening Champagne bottles.

Improperly aimed popping of Champagne corks is one of the most common causes for holiday-related eye injuries, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

"Within a fraction of a second, you will have no chance of getting away or blinking," said Dr. Thomas Steinemann, associate professor of ophthalmology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and spokesman for the academy.

This is because the small Champagne cork is under 90 pounds of pressure — which is three times the pressure inside a typical car tire. With this in mind, it is little wonder that in the United States, nearly half of Champagne cork injuries cause blindness in the eye that takes the hit.


The AAO list of precautions:

People commonly make several mistakes when opening Champagne bottles — oversights that put them at risk of an eye injury:

Do not let the bottle sit out for too long. The cork of a warm bottle is more likely to pop unexpectedly, warns the AAO.

Do not shake the bottle before opening. The gas can expand, which puts the cork under more pressure, says the academy.

Do not unscrew the safety wire before the bottle is pointed away from yourself and others, says Kaiser. "The worst injuries occur when the bottle is opened while looking directly at the cork so it hits the eye squarely."

Do not pop the cork. Popping, instead of gently unscrewing the cork, allows the cork to burst out uncontrolled, increasing the chance of eye injury.

Do not open the bottle close to a wall or a ceiling. "Letting it fly towards the ceiling is still dangerous due to potential richocheting of the projectile," says Braverman.

Make sure sparkling wine is chilled to at least 45 degrees Fahrenheit before opening.

Hold down the cork with the palm of your hand while removing the wire hood.

Point the bottle away from yourself and others at a 45-degree angle.

Place a towel over the entire top and grasp the cork. Slowly and firmly twist the cork to break the seal.

Continue until the cork is almost out of the neck. Counter the force of the cork using slight downward pressure just as the cork breaks free from the bottle.

***

Overall, the video links are a great addition to WLP. Well done.

Regards, Bob
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[Robin Garr]

You might consider beefing up the safety issues a little more, given your role as an online teacher/wine guru.

It's a tough call, Bob, drawing a balance between a reasonable concern for safety vs persuading people that opening Champagne is easy to do and needn't scare anyone. Given that the whole point of this procedure is to hang ON to the cork, and that I do make the point about holding the cork down while removing the cage and getting it good and cold before opening, I'm inclined to think I've hit that balance.

Separate point: Once again viewing that piece from the viewpoint of a reporter who spent many years trying to hype his stories onto the front page I'd be interested to see the American Academy of Opthalmology's actual numbers. Do you think you could google up or otherwise learn how many cork-related injuries - actual and incidence per 100,000 - occur every year?

Will try, Robin -- but Randy may have better access. I'll revert.

Here are a few sources, not very compelling, although I was struck by how serious the injuries are when they occur: "American researchers who investigated 12,889 champagne cork injury cases in the U.S., Hungary and Mexico found 26 percent of patients remained legally blind."

***

Cork injuries were responsible for 28 of 350 patients admitted to the city hospital for eye-related trauma between January 1999 and June 2006 in Modena, Italy, the production center of Lambrusco, a well-known sparkling wine.

The prevalence of cork-related eye injuries in the United States is less clear.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database identified 22 people treated for injuries related to bottles of carbonated drinks in 1990 and seven in 2000. About 20 percent of the injuries were attributed to corks, according to the American Society of Ocular Trauma in Alabama.


The emergency room at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia estimates it treats about a half-dozen cork-related injuries a year. Holy Redeemer Hospital in Abington has seen a handful of cork-related eye injuries in recent years, said Dr. Hank Unger, who heads the emergency department.

[The electronic database numbers seem too small if there are a six a year in one Philadelphia hospital -- but the database is purely voluntary as I understand it.]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/ ... 52416.html

The Italian data is outlined at http://www.osnsupersite.com/view.asp?rID=19673
They emphasize that the injuries occurred primarily in October and January.

I haven't found any better data, sorry.

One point: the techies consistently recommend holding the cork with a napkin or a towel: see for example: "the Comitè Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne recommends that “a napkin should be held over the cork and the neck of the bottle while the wire is being undone and the cork is gently eased off with the bottle pointing away from the face. There should be no ‘pop’ but merely a sigh. White gloves may be worn but are not essential.”

***

Is it mere coincidence that the Benedictine monk Dom Perignon, inventor of the champagne cork, was blind? The cause of his blindness is not known, of course.

Hold down the cork with the palm of your hand while removing the wire hood.

Point the bottle away from yourself and others at a 45-degree angle.

Place a towel over the entire top and grasp the cork. Slowly and firmly twist the cork to break the seal.

After seeing a cork spontaneously fly off a bottle along with its wire cage, I decided to always place a clean dish towel over the bottle BEFORE removing the cage. Even if it does not hit you, the cork with metal cage could easily break something else in the room.

As to the sound ... I recently heard someone describe the appropriate cork removal sound as that of "a nun passing gas in church." Hey, I didn't invent that one. I just assume it's supposed to mean really silent.

One final note. We caught a repeat episode of The Thirsty Traveler on TV this evening, and it was filmed in Champagne, France. We watched someone at Drappier use the sabre technique. Perhaps his technique was a bit off, because it took him 4-5 whacks before the top sheared off. It was pretty impressive nonetheless.

Robin, a second thought after doing some more research. I would still recommend you beef up the safety points in your video. The statistics are really not very meaningful in an educational video -- most viewers are either advanced folks like me eager to see an icon perform or novices who really want to learn how to open a bottle of Champagne properly.

Just by chance I watched at part of "Talledega Nights" last night -- folks were shaking up the champagne bottles and blasting the corks into the air. I remember many years ago thinking that was the way Champagne was supposed to be opened, an opinion formed in ignorance of reality and by the way it was done in the movies.

I still think a sentence at the beginning of the video about the high pressure in the bottle and a bit about safety would be interesting and helpful to a novice.

Important: there is no legal issue here at all, just my pedalogical reaction to the otherwise excellent piece of work.

Regards, Bob

Bob, I would rather credit people with a having a modicum of intelligence rather that introduce yet another Nanny State type of warning. Most now know that if you smoke you are asking for problems, and if you drink too much you get drunk and fall over, but the Government still insists on putting warnings on the packs or bottles. Every bottle of bubbly sold in the US will have the warnings you want printed on the label. Don't they? People just need to read the label.

If they do it wrong and hit themselves in the head, they will be unlikely to do it again.

Oh come on Neil -- I'm not suggesting a warning. This is a video intended to teach people a new skill, and a modest suggestion on improving an already excellent teaching device.

Shoot, why post the video at all -- just let folks use their modicum of intelligence all on their own.

I still think a sentence at the beginning of the video about the high pressure in the bottle and a bit about safety would be interesting and helpful to a novice.

I took this as asking for a warning message Bob. I have no problems with the video at all. Great idea. Though it would be of interest to talk about the pressures encountered inside a bottle of bubbly.

D'accord, Neil. Regards, Bob

Good health, Bob.

As to the sound ... I recently heard someone describe the appropriate cork removal sound as that of "a nun passing gas in church."

Bwa ha ha! That image (especially the look on the nun's face as she pretends nothing's happened) is priceless.


I always make sure that the business end of the Champagne bottle is pointed away from me or anyone else before I remove the foil or the wire cage. And that it stays that way as I carefully and slowly twist the cork to nudge it upwards.

If all goes well, eventually the cork comes loose with the subtle fart-in-church sound you so aptly described.

If the cork breaks off, then one has the uh-oh emergency state. Again keeping the mouth of the bottle pointed away from anyone, insert a screwpull or corkscrew, and as gently as possible try to extract the cork. The internal pressure fortunately is on your side in this operation.

Unless the bottle has been very agitated or very warm at the start of the procedure, the exploding cork and spewing Champagne phenomenon shouldn't happen. You should get a subtle pop, and the great fizz is ready to pour and enjoy. With no danger to you or to onlookers.

-Paul W.

I never remove the wire cage, just loosen it, because I find I get a better grip on a difficult cork with it on.

I never remove the wire cage, just loosen it, because I find I get a better grip on a difficult cork with it on.

Finally someone said it!

Just my 2 cents to Robin's video:

1) My main critic: From the moment you unwire the cage, you have to secure the cork permanently until it's finally uncorked. The way Robin does it, the cork can come out uncrontrolled at any time for over 11 seconds.

2) I do not take off the wire cage; as Peter says, you have a much better grip, which is especially important for very tight sitting corks, i.e. when time lapse since disgorgment is small. It also reduces risk of early uncontrolled popping to zero, since you don't need to take your hand off.

3) I tilt the bottle even more than 45 degrees, just as much as possible without danger of spilling the content. The reason: to maximize the liquid surface exposed to air, so that CO2 can evaporate without foam.

As to the gentle sound of a perfectly popped cork, our British friends like the "angel's fart" analogy.

As to the technical side of viewing the video, I just had a strange experience. When I first clicked four or fives days ago, no problem (Firefox1.x). Today, (Firefox2.0.0.1) no chance. It worked, however with IE (7.0.5730.11).

Another option to open a bottle of bubbles is to use the Champ-Eazytool. I have one of these implements and it works quite well. Leave the capsule on, lever the little loop on the cage out with the hook, grip the cork with the prongs, leaver backwards and the cage breaks, the cork is eased out of the bottle, and you still have a very firm grip on it at the end.

PS. I don't get a kick-back on sales. Unfortunately.

Neal, I use the Champ-Eazy prongs from time to time. Handling is not that easy, but it works. The inconvenient is the very loud pop which is not state of the art in the restaurant or sommelier business. But it's a perfect tool for banquet type of events when you have to open a larger number of bottles.

Hi Randy,

JFTMOR: FF1.x worked just fine, so there was no need to update, until I went to a site that required FF2: The Austrian Academy of Science has put Karl Kraus's "Die Fackel" online a wekk ago. The site needs FF2, that's why I updated.