9 Mistakes People Make When Opening Champagne

From dangerously aiming your champagne bottle, to simply serving your beverage at the wrong temperature, these are the top nine most common mistakes people make when opening champagne. Even the biggest champagne snobs will find themselves guilty of at least one of these mistakes.

To avoid any accident, and any embarrassment, consider changing your habits. So the next time you're opening a celebratory bottle, make sure you're doing it the right way!

You're not serving it at the right temperature.

To before you even open the bottle, you might be making a mistake. First, on our list of the most common mistakes people make when opening champagne is that you're serving it at the wrong temperature. Most commonly, you're serving it all too cold. Though it's easy to just plop your bottle into the ice bucket, letting it sit in there for too long will make your champagne a lot harder to enjoy.

And on the latter, if you don't chill the bottle long enough, warm, flat champagne is in your near future. So instead, be sure to cool your sparkling wine to about 47 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This will provide a crisp and satisfying first sip, perfect for any celebration.

You aim the cork in the wrong direction.

This might just be one of the biggest mistakes people make when opening champagne, because it could result in losing an eye. You should never aim your bottle at someone, at something valuable, or at yourself.

With all of the pressure that builds inside of the bottle, there is a lot of power that you hold in your hands as you're aiming to open it up. So if you pop the cork, voluntarily or not, it could easily injure or break something around you. So as the number one rule of opening champagne, never aim it at something of importance or at a human being.

You "pop" it.

Believe it or not, champagne was not meant to be popped, contrary to popular belief by most rap lyrics. As one of the biggest mistakes people make when opening champagne, you shouldn't lose any of your beverage in the process of opening the bottle.

Though it might be tempting, making it rain is definitely a big mistake, for many reasons: it's messy, it's obnoxious, and you lose some of your champagne. Instead, gently twist the cork to open the bottle with no mess and instant gratification.

You twist the bottle.

Instead of twisting the bottle to relieve the cork, you should twist the cork itself to remove it from your bottle. This is a mistake because twisting the bottle will result in foam, and an eruption of it.

It will build the pressure behind the cork more, and result in a mess, and in much more of a struggle to release the cork without issues. Grasp the cork with one hand and keep the bottle steady with the other, while placing it on the base of the bottle.

You're not holding it at the right angle.

Along with aiming it in the right direction, cooling it to the correct temperature, and twisting the cork, you must be sure to hold it at the right angle as well. But what is the best angle? 45 degrees will ensure safety, reduce the loss of CO2, and produce fizzy and tasty champagne.

As one of the biggest mistakes people make when opening champagne, forgetting to handle the bottle at the correct angle while trying to remove the cork is easy to do. However, next time, you'll know just the right way to do so. Just be sure to have a glass at hand, and you're ready to share the celebration.

You "attempt" at sabering it.

Sabering a bottle of champagne, or opening the bottle with a sword, especially if it is your first attempt, is almost always a bad idea. Alcohol and swords don't exactly mix well together, and if you do so incorrectly, you'll simply slice right into that thick glass at the same force you exuded through your sword.

100X worse than hitting someone with the cord, now you're dangerously aiming a thick piece of glass at your party guests. Instead, leave it to the professionals, or practice a bunch, away from people and breakable things.

You're holding the glass all wrong.

Much like the mistake of holding the bottle at the wrong angle, you're always holding the glass all wrong. As one of the most common mistakes people make when opening champagne, you want to mirror your glass to the bottle, tilting it at a 45-degree angle while pouring the champagne.

Easy to remember, since both the bottle and the glass will mimic each other, this will result in preserving the CO2 gas. This will result in fizzy and vibrant tasting champagne.

Who knew your pouring skills could affect the taste? If you simply pour the champagne into your glass, this will create a thick head of bubbles, something no champagne lover wants.

You fill the glass all the way up.

Just like any type of wine, you should never fill your glass all the way to the top, even if it's a champagne flute. Instead, keep it half full, and refill when you need to. This will encourage you to drink and enjoy your drink slowly, and will ensure the drink will have a consistent temperature.

If you will the glass to the top, the bottom of the glass will be warmer than the rest, and we don't want that. As one of the most common mistakes people make when opening champagne, keep your drinking experience consistent by filling it to the middle of the glass instead.

You're serving it in the wrong glass.

Last, on our list of the most common mistakes people make when opening champagne, we know that champagne is in the name "champagne flute" but we recommend trying something different.

Due to the narrow top of the flute, the aroma and taste get restricted, which will limit your drinking experience. Instead, stray away from glasses that have a narrow tp, and drink champagne in large tulip flutes or even a large wine glass; you'll taste the difference!