A bottle of champagne: description, volumes, opening rules

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

A bottle of excellent quality champagne should always be on any festive table. From time immemorial, this drink has symbolized the joy, happiness, fun and chic mood of the guests.

And we owe it all to Monsieur Perignon.

By the way, only 3 grape varieties are used for the production of champagne: white Chardonnay and red Pinot Noir and Pinot Merrier. The mysterious process of quickly separating grape juice from the pulp allows the juice of red grapes to become white wine (the juice does not have time to absorb the properties of the skin, which gives it a red tint).

Every bottle of champagne necessarily contains a "deterrent" in the form of a wire mesh - a muzzle, which was invented in 1844 to prevent explosions of wine vessels in cellars.

Impeccable and quiet

An ineptly opened bottle of luxury drink is bad manners. Spilling half of the contents, and in the worst case, a neighbor's black eye, spoiled mood, and now - this is not at allfestive evening. In order not to embarrass yourself and not to clean up after yourself broken glass, in no case shake a bottle of champagne before opening it.

Ideally, when opening champagne, a quiet pop, or "sigh", or "whisper" should be heard, which indicates the high quality of the drink. Before you open a bottle of champagne, read how to properly prepare and chill it.

Preparing the bottle

The temperature of a bottle of champagne before serving should be no more than 4-8 ºC.

It is convenient to use a cooler (a bucket of water and ice): a bottle immersed in it can be cooled in half an hour. S alt the ice inside - and you will reduce the cooling time; if there is no water in the cooler, but only ice, the process of getting the bottle to the right temperature will take much longer.

Champagne will cool to the desired condition in the refrigerator in 6 hours.

Opening with soft cotton

1. You're on a date and trying to make a good impression. Cool the drink down to +6…+8 ºC. Maybe you're just having a holiday at home. Open the champagne the right way.
2. When opening the bottle, please note that it must be tilted at a 45º angle. After removing the wire, press the cork with your finger, remove the foil, do not turn the cork, rotate the bottle. You are on the right track.
3. Is the traffic jam under control? Fine. There comes a moment when she "wants" to independently "pass" toexit. Gently tilt the bottle - let the gas come out. Do you hear a gentle whisper? It starts a dialogue with you! Open gently, with a nice soft pop.
4. Pour the divine nectar into chilled glasses, holding them at an angle so that excess foam does not prevent you from pouring wine.

Use a towel or napkin

Did you reach item 2 of the previous list? Fine! Have you noticed that a chilled bottle of champagne is covered with condensation? Cover it with a napkin or towel so that the vessel does not slip out of your hands and it would be easier for you to control the movement of the cork. Wrap the neck, turn the bottle.

When the cork leaves the neck, you will not miss it at the expense of the towel.

Plastic cork

Please note that if you come across such a bottle, unfortunately, this is not real champagne.

How to open a champagne bottle with a plastic stopper? Gently unscrew the cork, while not being afraid, as it moves quietly, because gas is pressing on it from the inside. Don't miss the moment when it leaves the bottle completely, tilt the bottle a little so that the carbon dioxide comes out.

Wooden cork is a filter through which wine "lives" and develops

Real wines are only sealed with wooden corks. High pressure is not created inside such a bottle, it is not difficult to uncork it without cotton.

How long does champagne keep inclosed

If we talk about the shelf life of champagne in a bottle, then information about it is provided by each manufacturer individually. Usually it is not spelled out in the standards. A sealed bottle is guaranteed for two years.

Under the conditions of storage, a real vintage wine in a cold cellar does not lose its taste and sparkling from 10 to 25 years. Regardless of whether it is a small or a large bottle of champagne, when wine is moved to room temperature conditions (above cellar temperature), the shelf life of the drink is reduced and the taste deteriorates. This happens due to the interaction of carbon dioxide with the cork: its decomposition begins, which leads to a violation of the tightness of the bottle.

Storage conditions:

• certain temperature regime: no more than 15 degrees;
• factory packaging must not be broken;
• wine is "afraid" of bright light and especially direct sunlight;
• humidity level is important: the noble drink prefers a damp atmosphere (about 75% humidity);
• Champagne in a bottle will not expire prematurely if the wine is stored horizontally.

If the bottle is opened at home, it can be stored no more than a day in the refrigerator. Leaving champagne uncorked, you run the risk of not recognizing the drink, as it will acquire an unusual aftertaste and lose all its qualities.

It is better to buy a quality product in specialized stores where the necessary storage conditions are provideddrink and there is a guarantee that the champagne in the bottle has not expired.

History of champagne in Russia

In the late 1800s, the French were challenged by Lev Golitsyn. The name of the wine "New World" was given in honor of the name of the prince's estate, where he grew grapes for about ten years. Russian champagne - to be!

In 1896, the drink was served at the coronation of Nicholas II. Since then, the wine has been dubbed "Coronation".

A little about "Soviet"

The first bottle of Soviet Champagne was released in 1928. Since 1937, it has entered the open mass sale.

The minimum price for a 0.75 liter bottle is 164 rubles.

There are three types of "Soviet champagne" - brut (true taste, sour, for connoisseurs), semi-dry and semi-sweet. The import of sparkling wine into our country is growing, while the production of Soviet Champagne, unfortunately, is falling (it fell by eight percent in 2016).

What are the volumes of bottles

Standard volume of a bottle of champagne - 750 ml. The rest are rarely found in stores, although sparkling in a 375 ml container is sold in stores and costs about 70% of the cost of a standard bottle. Three per pack, small 200 ml bottles are offered.

The most favorable price is for a standard bottle of 0.75 l.

A large bottle of Magnum champagne (1.5L) costs more than two standard bottles.

Other non-standard sizes can be made to order: Jeroboam (3 l), Methuselah (6 l), Salmanazar (9 l), B althazar (12l), Nebuchadnezzar (15 l), Solomon (18 l), Sovereign (26, 25 l), Primat (27 l), Melchizedek (30 l).

Did you know?

What do a bottle of champagne and a London double decker have in common? Pressure! That in bus tires, that in a vessel with a noble drink at room temperature there is as much as 6 atmospheres (6 kg per 1 sq. cm).

Fifty million bubbles in the Moet… Can't believe it? Almost as many of them in each bottle swarm around the walls around the bumps. Have you noticed that glasses in restaurants are wiped with a cotton towel? It turns out that cellulose microparticles remain on the glass walls, and thanks to them, the bubbles get stuck on the walls. Beautiful!

Forty kilometers per hour is the speed of a low-speed car, as well as the release of a cork due to the serious pressure in the bottle. A cork flies out of a heated vessel even faster. Never think that sun exposure is the best way to quickly open a bottle of champagne. This is dangerous, as the speed of the traffic jam in this case can reach 100 km/h.