Uncorking & Serving Champagne

If you are reading this column New Year’s Eve day, you may be interested in the first part pertaining to uncorking and serving your Champagne this evening.  However, if you are reading it on New Year’s Day, you may want to skip right to the second part for a few cures for “the morning after”.

I found this method for opening your Champagne bottle, which you may find helpful.

1. Cut the foil around the top of the bottle.  

2. Place your hand or your thumb on top of the cork.  Keep it there until the cork is out.  

3. Loosen the wire cage; the hand that holds the bottle can have its thumb on the cork.  

4. Wrap a towel around the bottle to prevent slippage.

5. Ease the cork out gently by slowly twisting the bottle, not the cork,  in one direction.  This gentle twisting of the bottle prevents fizz from going everywhere.

Serve the Champagne in either a flute or tulip-shaped glass to help preserve the bubbles.  If you serve it in the old-style shallow bowl type, it will make the bubbles disappear more quickly.  Make sure the glasses are dry before serving, as water ruins the visual effect of sparkling wines.  Also, don’t chill the glasses, as they will fog up. If the bubbles in your Champagne are small, like pinheads, it is more likely to be a good Champagne than if the bubbles are bigger, like in seltzer.

Now for a few cures for “the morning after”.  I came across several web sites offering advice for such an occasion.  Although there is no way of completely ridding yourself of a hangover, there are a few things you can do to help make it a little better.  Following are a few of the suggestions I found.....* Drink fruit juice.  The fructose will help you metabolize the alcohol faster.  * Eat amino acids to help replace the proteins destroyed by the alcohol.  * Just 2 cups of coffee will reduce the swelling in your blood vessels that causes a headache.  * Have a good meal, but keep it light.  No fats or fried foods.  Consommé will help replace salt and potassium.  *Take B complex vitamins.  This shortens hangovers by aiding your stressed body systems.  * Alcohol acts as a diuretic.  If you drink a lot of alcoholic drinks, the best way to reduce the hangover effect is to drink a couple of glasses of water before you go to sleep and again when you awake.  * Avoid drinks that are more likely to cause a hangover.  Bourbon, scotch, red wine and peach schnapps contain congeners, substances that give flavor to liquor and produce longer-lasting hangovers.  In contrast, vodka and gin are low in congeners.

I even found a couple of drink recipes for a cure for the morning after.

Harry’s pick-me-up
3 ounces brandy
1 teaspoon grenadine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 or 4 ice cubes
6 ounces chilled champagne

Combine all ingredients except the champagne in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.  Strain into a 10-ounce goblet and fill with champagne.

Cecil pick-me-up
2 to 3 ounces brandy
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 egg yolk
3 or 4 ice cubes
4 ounces chilled champagne

Combine all ingredients except the champagne in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.  Strain into an 8-ounce wineglass and fill with champagne.

By Linda Wood - The Wine and Brew House

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