Opening Champagne Properly

Everyone has seen those comedic movies where someone is trying to open a bottle of champagne, and doesn't exactly do a good job of it. We just sit and wait in anticipation until the cork pops out and hits someone in the head. While this may not exactly happen in the real world, it can still be pretty funny to watch someone try to open a champagne bottle when they don't know how. Opening champagne properly isn't that hard, as long as you follow these simple steps.

1. Remove the foil. Just like many non-sparkling types of wine, champagne bottles have a foil cap around the cork that needs to be removed. There should be a little lip, or a piece of slightly looser foil that you can grasp and use as a starting point for removing the foil. Discard the foil properly when you have removed it.
2. Untwist the wire. Underneath the foil cap, you will find wire twisted around the cork, helping to hold it in place. This wire will need to be removed so that you can begin removing the cork from the bottle. Typically this wire can be easily be removed by simply untwisting it. Once again, discard of the wire properly when you have removed it.
3. 3, Wrap a towel. Wrap a small, clean dish towel around the top of the champagne bottle. This towel will serve several purposes. First, by wrapping the towel around the neck and cork of the champagne bottle, you can ensure that there will be less of a chance of flying corks. Second, this towel will also help ensure that you don't spill too much of the champagne, if spill any at all. Thirdly, and most important, the towel will help you to have a better grip on the cork in order to work it out of the bottle.
4. Point the bottle in a safe direction. While it doesn't happen often, there is a reason that those comedic movies show the cork of a champagne bottle flying out and hitting someone. Make sure that this doesn't happen by simply pointing the bottle away from anyone before you begin working on the cork.
5. Twist the cork. Gently, but firmly, begin to twist the cork out of the bottle. Some people find that it is easier to twist the bottle than it is the cork, so do which ever will work best for you. Just make sure that you keep a firm grip on the cork.
6. Carefully pull the cork out. Carefully and gently remove the cork from the bottle of champagne. You don't want to shake the bottle too much, since this can create a larger amount of carbon dioxide in the bottle, and lead to more pressure (which can cause the cork to go flying). When you hear a "pop" you know that that the cork has been removed, and you can begin pouring the champagne.