How to correctly open a cork bottle: Lowe Family Wine Co wine maker reveals secrets

You’ve been opening your champagne bottle wrong: Wine maker reveals his six secrets – and why you should never remove the cage from the cork

An Aussie wine expert shared six tips when opening corked wine bottles
Bryan from Lowe Family Wine Co revealed his secrets at a wine tasting
‘The cork should never pop off out of grip,’ he said

By Carina Stathis For Daily Mail Australia

An Australian wine maker has lifted the lid on how to open a champagne bottle correctly – and his clever tip for cooling wine during summer.

Bryan, from Lowe Family Wine Co in Mudgee, New South Wales, shared his wealth of knowledge and said ‘the cork should never pop off out of grip’

Most wine and champagne drinkers remove the cage covering the cork before opening but this is a big mistake.

Wine expert Bryan from Lowe Family Wine Co in Mudgee, New South Wales shared his secrets during a tasting on Saturday (pictured)

From not removing the cage covering to cork to using a simple double bucket technique (right) to chill wine, guests left impressed

Why you should NEVER pair chocolate and champagne: Sommelier reveals why the luxury treats don’t go together

Sandia Chang, Sommelier, founder of online fine winery the Bubbleshop and co-founder of two Michelin-starred Kitchen Table in London explained that the bitterness of chocolate ‘confuses’ the acidity of champagne meaning you lose the flavour of both.

Instead she suggests pairing fizz with oysters or truffle popcorn, and if you want to give your loved one chocolate go for a sweeter fortified wine instead.

‘I find that the bitterness in chocolate really confuses the taste of wine and especially champagne, which has a higher acidity,’ she explained.

‘A better pairing for Valentine’s Day would be champagne and oysters because the minerality in the oysters matches really well with the chalky notes of champagne.

‘If you’re opting for lobster or seafood then a fuller bodied champagne, such as Olivier Horiot, 5 Sens, Extra Brut, is the perfect accompaniment.’

This is because it can be used to better grip the cork.

Then, you should tilt the bottle slightly on a 45 degree angle to better distribute the alcohol and spread the pressure.

‘You don’t want all the pressure behind the cork, you want to keep it inside the bottle,’ he said.

After a couple of careful twists the cork should release from the bottle with little noise.

Most wine and champagne drinkers remove the cage covering the cork before opening – though this is a fatal mistake. The wine maker revealed the cage should never be removed because it can be used to better grip the cork

How to correctly open a cork bottle

Never remove the cage – it helps you grip the cork

Tilt the bottle on an angle to distribute the wine or champagne and spread the pressure – you don’t want all the pressure behind the cork

Twist the bottle, not the cork

The cork should never pop off and fly into the air, ever

Every cage over a cork has six twists

‘Room temperature’ normally means between 16-18 degrees Celsius, not an Australian summer room temperature

On Saturday, the weather topped 33 degrees Celsius, which can spoil wine. To combat this heat, the wine expert used a simple double bucket technique. The bottles of red wine were placed inside a large bucket surrounding a smaller bucket full of ice and white wines (pictured)

Bryan also pointed out what the correct ‘room temperature’ is to store wine.

‘Everyone says to keep red wine at “room temperature” but no one says what temperature that is exactly,’ he said, adding: ‘The correct temperature should be around 16 to 18 degrees Celsius.’

On the day of the tasting, the weather topped 33 degrees Celsius, which can spoil wine.

To combat this heat, he used a simple but effective double bucket technique.

The bottles of red wine were placed inside a large bucket surrounding a smaller bucket full of ice and white wines.

The ice kept the white wine chilled while the air leaving the smaller bucket was also the perfect temperature to cool the red and sparkling wines.

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