CHILLING TO DRINK

You have friends coming over and you want to chill your Codorníu so it’s at the perfect temperature to enjoy (around 5-8°C)....

In the fridge, a bottle will take around 4-5 hours to chill adequately.

If you don’t have that much time, then the best way to ‘quick chill’ is to put a handful of ice in a bucket or bowl and then add a litre or so of cold water. Your bottle will be ready to pop open within 20 minutes. Do not put your bottle in the freezer, as you may end up opening a flat bottle.

OPENING

It has been said that the biggest cause of blindness in France is popping corks!? We are not so sure about that, but it does tell you how careful you need to be when opening a bottle of corked sparkling wine. Hopefully, this will help:

• Remove the foil.
• Twist open the wire cage (6 twists if you are counting….). Once the cage is loose, the cork can push its way out, so hold a thumb down on the top.
• Remove the wire cage and quickly return your thumb to the top of the cork and maintain light pressure to prevent the cork spontaneously pushing its way out.
• Hold the cork firmly with one hand, hold the bottle at 45° and twist the bottle in one direction with the other hand. If you twist the cork or twist back and forth…well it can get messy….
• The cork should ease out, with no spillage. The classic sound is reported to be something to do with a classic low volume something from nun's derriere.

Ignore all the above if you are a Formula One race driver or you want to spray all your friends. Sometimes that can be fun and should definitely be done once or twice in our lives at least!!