Lesson 9 of 9 · 5 minutes

  1. 1. What makes wine sparkle
  2. 2. The life of a bubble
  3. 3. Five ways to make bubbles
  4. 4. The traditional method step by step
  5. 5. Grapes and the blend
  6. 6. Sugar and dosage
  7. 7. Where it sparkles
  8. 8. Reading the label
  9. 9. Serving

Serving

After this lesson you will know how cold to serve sparkling wine, how to open and pour it safely, which glass to use and how to keep an opened bottle.

  1. 01

    8 to 10 °C

    The Comité Champagne recommends serving champagne at 8 to 10 °C.1,2 Vintage champagnes may be served at up to 12 °C.2 Cold also keeps the bubbles: in one study a careful pour lost 1.6 g/L of dissolved CO2 at 4 °C and 3.7 g/L at 18 °C.3 More on serving temperature.

  2. 02

    How to chill

    There are two ways. Put the bottle in an ice bucket filled half with water and half with ice for 30 minutes, or leave it at the bottom of the refrigerator for a few hours.1,4 A cold bottle is also calmer: a sealed bottle holds about 4.7 bar of pressure at 6 °C and about 7.5 bar at 20 °C.5

  3. 03

    Opening without a pop

    Remove the foil and loosen the wire cage, the muselet. From that moment keep a hand on the cork. Tilt the bottle 30 to 45°, never towards anyone, hold the cork and turn the bottle, not the cork, until it eases out.4,1 A cork that escapes flies at about 10-15 m/s.6 Step by step on opening a bottle.

  4. 04

    Pouring slowly

    The Comité Champagne advises pouring in two stages, slowly and steadily, which keeps the bubbles longer.1,4 Lab tests add that the glass angle matters: at 4 °C, champagne poured straight down lost 3.0 g/L of dissolved CO2, and poured down the side of a tilted glass it lost 1.6 g/L.3 Details on pouring and CO2 loss.

  5. 05

    Which glass

    The Comité Champagne recommends a tall glass with a generous bowl that narrows at the top.1,4 The Union des Maisons de Champagne regards the egg-shaped tulip as the standard; the flute shows the wine's appearance but is fragile.7 A wine glass with a narrowing rim fits the same description. Wash glasses in hot water without detergent.1,4

  6. 06

    Keeping an opened bottle

    To keep an opened bottle, reseal it with an airtight stopper.1,4 A teaspoon in the neck, a popular trick, does not stop the wine from losing its fizz, according to the Comité Champagne.4 A stopper closes the exit, so the gas collects above the wine again. No official figure for how many days an opened bottle keeps was found. More on the opened bottle.

Remember

  1. Serve champagne at 8-10 °C; vintage champagne up to 12 °C.
  2. Chill it in a half-ice, half-water bucket for 30 minutes or at the bottom of the fridge for a few hours.
  3. Keep a hand on the cork, tilt the bottle 30-45° away from people and turn the bottle, not the cork.
  4. Pour slowly in two stages; a tilted glass keeps more CO2.
  5. Reseal an opened bottle with an airtight stopper; a teaspoon does not help.

Check yourself

1How do you open a bottle safely?

2Which way of chilling does the Comité Champagne give?

3What keeps an opened bottle fizzy longest?

See also

Serving temperatureServingOpening a bottleServingHow to pourServingGlassesServingKeeping an opened bottleServingPouring and CO2 lossScience

Sources

  1. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Factsheet: Champagne Service (EN) (2024)
  2. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Factsheet: Serving Champagne (2026-08)
  3. American Chemical Society (article PDF hosted on acs.org). Liger-Belair G., Bourget M., Villaume S., Jeandet P., Pron H., Polidori G. On the losses of dissolved CO2 during champagne serving. J. Agric. Food Chem. 58(15): 8768-8775. DOI 10.1021/jf101239w (2010-07-13)
  4. Comité Champagne (champagne.education). Store and serve Champagne (web page)
  5. Nature Publishing Group. Liger-Belair G., Cordier D., Honvault J., Cilindre C. Unveiling CO2 heterogeneous freezing plumes during champagne cork popping. Scientific Reports 7: 10938. DOI 10.1038/s41598-017-10702-6 (2017)
  6. Elsevier (author PDF hosted by LMU Munich SFB 1064). Liger-Belair G., Bourget M., Cilindre C., Pron H., Polidori G. Champagne cork popping revisited through high-speed infrared imaging: the role of temperature. Journal of Food Engineering 116: 78-85. DOI 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2012.11.006 (2013)
  7. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). Choosing the right wine glass

Facts checked on 2026-10-20