OPENNING A BOTTLE

Undo the wire cage, hold the cork in the palm of your hand and twist the bottle holding it at the bottom, the cork will come out of its 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

Contrary to popular belief a silver spoon placed in the neck of the bottle 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.