How to Chill Champagne In a Champagne bucket:
A bottle plunged into a mixture of water and ice should reach the right temperature in 15 to 20 minutes.
In the refrigerator: Lie the bottle down on the bottom shelf for three or four hours before serving; you can leave it there even longer, provided that the temperature remains constant; this way you will always have a ready chilled bottle to pour should the occasion arise.
The right temperature: Champagne is best consumed chilled but never iced. The younger and livelier the Champagne, the cooler it should be served at 8ºC or 48ºF. A mature or vintage Champagne will be perfect at 10ºC or 50ºF. Over-chilling will mean that the wine is too cold to release its aromas and flavors.
Chilling your Champagnes in the freezer will ruin their aromas and flavors, so plan ahead with buckets of ice and coolers for chilling.
The Champenois often use large coolers that take several bottles at a time
to chill their champagnes.
Opening:
Undo the wire cage (muselet), hold the cork (bouchon) in the palm of your hand
and twist the bottle holding it at the bottom, the cork will come out of is
own accord.
The Cork
The shape and state of the cork, just like the gentle hiss or resounding pop
upon opening, gives us an indication of how long the wine has spent in the
bottle, and how long it has spent sitting on the shelf. If the cork splays
out at the bottom (a) it
means that the bottle is fresh and the cork still wishes to find its original
shape.  If
the cork tapers in at the bottom (b) it
means that the bottle is old, you will only hear a gentle sigh as the cork
is popped.
The bubbles also show the age of the wine. Over the years the bubbles will
gradually become smaller and smaller, before finally dying out.
A connoisseur will not be worried by the absence of bubbles in a very mature
wine, something that might shock the uninitiated into believing that their
wine is flat.
The Silver Spoon Fallacy:
Contrary to popular belief a silver spoon placed in the neck of the bottle,
after opening, does nothing to preserve the wine’s effervescence. Only a proper
Champagne stopper is the truly effective way of preserving the wine’s
sparkle for many hours.
Serving:
When it comes to serving Champagne the choice and preparation of your
glassware is very important. If there are no bubbles in your glass, don’t believe
that your Champagne is flat, change the glass and watch the difference…
Which glass?
To fully appreciate a Champagne wine you must give it the glass it deserves.
Its volume and height must be enough to allow the bubbles the space to form
and rise to the surface, while allowing the temperature to remain as constant
as possible.
The ideal shape is that of a tulip, the Champagne saucer is one to avoid as
the aromas and bubbles have too much space and are soon lost into the air.
The thickness of the glass also has a role to play, especially on the lips
where its finesse heightens our sense of taste.
How to wash a Champagne glass?
Rinse the glasses in hot water without any trace of washing-up liquid, let
them drain until dry, then store them upright sheltered from dust. The residues
of washing-up liquid can inhibit the formation of the bubbles.
Tasting Champagne:
Look closely, smell and taste.
Pour the Champagne so that the glasses are only half full.
Don’t
forget to look at the color, admire the different shades of gold or pink. Watch
the bubbles dancing - light, lively, generous, …
Then inhale its bouquet, slowly and at length, and then start again. Do you
recognize aromas of fruits or flowers, or richer smells like hot rolls, vanilla,
spices?
Finally, taste the wine. Keep it in your mouth for a few seconds. Start again.
You will not only find the aromas you have identified with your nose but you
will also uncover the true nature of your Champagne: smooth or full-bodied, delicate or complex.
A vos sabres!
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