How to Serve Champagne in a Glass

Make your party even more bubbly when you serve sparkling wine in the perfect champagne glasses. The right toasting flutes can improve the taste of your champagne, prosecco or other sparkling wine as well as add a festive touch to any event. Several factors can affect the experience, including the temperature of the champagne and the method used to open the bottle, in addition to the types of champagne glasses you use.

Serving Champagne:

1. Chill the champagne to a temperature between 43 and 47 degrees Fahrenheit. To do this, place the bottle in the refrigerator for about four hours or in an ice bucket filled with equal amounts of ice and water for about 30 minutes. Handle the bottle carefully to avoid shaking the contents. While you may be tempted to chill the champagne glasses, doing so will cause them to fog up and cloud the view of the champagne. For an optimal effect, the glasses you use should be dry and as clear as possible.

2. Pick the appropriate stemware. Some people like serving sparkling wine in white wine tulips or champagne saucers, but toasting flutes are specially designed to preserve the bubbles as long as possible. The narrow shape of the bowl provides less surface area for the bubbles to dissipate, so you can have more of the bubble texture in your mouth. The long stem also provides a vital function, allowing you to hold the glass without holding the bowl and warming the drink with your hands.

3. Loosen the foil from the neck of the bottle and carefully remove the twisted-wire hood. Hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle with your thumb over the cork, taking care not to point it toward your face or at any people. Corks can occasionally pop out on their own, so be careful.

4. Uncork the champagne bottle slowly. Place a small dishtowel over the bottle before loosening the cork to prevent spills and to better grasp the cork. Hold the cork and slowly turn the champagne bottle to ease the cork out gradually. You'll feel the pressure on the cork as it is released, but keep turning the bottle slowly, without letting the cork pop on its own. The cork should ease off quietly, so that you do not lose any of the champagne.

5. To prevent the champagne from bubbling over, pour it slowly down one side of the glass. Only pour about an inch of champagne into a glass and then wait for the froth to settle. Slowly add more liquid to the champagne flute glasses until they are about two-thirds full.