The owner is on the sundeck with six guests and asks you to open the Champagne. Every eye turns to you. A loud pop and a spray of foam looks fun in a music video; onboard it is wasted wine, a stained cushion, and a cork travelling at speed towards someone's face. Do this quietly and correctly.
Opening Still Wine
Use a waiter's friend (double-hinged is easiest).
- Cut the foil below the second lip of the bottle with the knife, rotating the bottle, not the knife. Remove the foil cap and pocket it.
- Wipe the lip and the top of the cork with a clean service cloth.
- Insert the worm slightly off-centre, then straighten as you turn it in — down to the last spiral, without punching through the base of the cork.
- Use the first hinge, then the second, to lever the cork out straight. Ease the last part out by hand so it comes free silently.
- Wipe the neck inside and out. Present the cork to the host's right.
If a cork breaks, do not force it. Re-insert the worm at a steep angle, or push through and decant through a fine strainer. Never serve with cork fragments in the glass.
Decanting
Two entirely different reasons, and you should know which you are doing:
| Purpose | Applies to | Method |
|---|---|---|
| To separate sediment | Old reds, vintage port, unfiltered wines | Stand upright 24 hrs. Pour slowly and continuously over a light source, stop the moment sediment reaches the shoulder |
| To aerate ("breathe") | Young, tannic, closed reds and some big whites | Pour briskly, splashing down the side of the decanter |
Simply pulling the cork and leaving the bottle standing does almost nothing — the exposed surface is the size of a coin. Breathing happens in the decanter or the glass, not in the neck of the bottle.
Old wines can be fragile: a 30-year-old Bordeaux may fade within 30 minutes of decanting. Decant it close to service and tell the host what you have done.
Champagne and Sparkling — Safely
A 75cl bottle holds around 6 bar of pressure, roughly three times a car tyre.
- Chill properly — a warm bottle is a dangerous bottle. 6–8°C.
- Never shake, and never point the bottle at anyone. Keep it at roughly 45°.
- Remove the foil. Place your thumb over the top of the cork and keep it there from now until the cork is out.
- Untwist the muselet (six half-turns) but do not remove the cage — loosen it and keep it under your thumb with the cork.
- Grip the cork firmly. Turn the bottle, not the cork, with your other hand, holding the cork still against the escaping pressure.
- Ease it out to produce a soft sigh, not a pop. Keep the bottle at 45° for a few seconds so the pressure equalises without gushing.
- Pour in two stages into a tilted glass, letting the mousse fall before topping up.
Onboard Notes
- Open sparkling wine away from guests' faces, away from glass tables and never below deckhead lights. In a swell, brace yourself against something solid first.
- Use a coaster or service plate under decanters — a swell will slide a decanter across a table.
- If a cork does escape and fly, it is an incident. Check nobody was struck, apologise once, clean up, move on.
- Keep the muselet and cork: some owners collect them, and a cage confirms the bottle was legitimately opened onboard.