Around my house, we don’t count down to New Year’s Day; we count down to New Year’s EVE.
Even though we enjoy Champagne and sparkling wine throughout the year, we tend to get out the “good stuff” on New Year’s Eve to share with friends — wines like Dom Perignon … or Cristal.
This year, we’ll be uncorking the 2006 Dom Perignon and the 2009 Cristal. Both are blends of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and I’m looking forward to experiencing the impressions of flowers, toast, hay and licorice in the Dom Perignon, and the notes of orange blossom, lemon, hazelnut and peach in the Cristal.
For me, it will be pure bubbly bliss.
While some of my friends make a show out of opening Champagne bottles by using a saber, I will be opening mine the old-fashioned way — slowly and carefully.
Still, it’s fun to watch the sabre method in action, so I’ve gathered a few videos for your entertainment. Let me stress that I am NOT recommending this method — especially for people like me who type for a living.
Let’s begin with a purely educational “how-to” presentation:
For a more entertaining presentation, here is how Food Network star Alton Brown does it:
And for a presumably safer method using a simple kitchen knife — including a look at the procedure in slow-motion — check out this video:
Again, I am NOT recommending this method for opening your Champagne bottle. Chards of glass can fly, and accidents can happen.
Not to mention, a lot of Champagne can be wasted as it flies out of the bottle and onto the floor.
My suggestion: Enjoy the videos, but open your bottle the correct and safe way. We’ll show you how to do that on Wednesday.
