A Guide to Bubbles: How to Open, Serve, and Pair Them

Sparkling wines are always a great choice, whether it is for a celebration or just having a casual light lunch. Everyone can find their preferred style. Let Wine in Time give you some tips about how to open and serve them like a professional and how to choose the right glassware for each style!

There are so many glass shapes, but which one is right for our sparkling wine?

Of course, to enjoy it more, you must chill down the bottle before serving it. Not freezing cold because it will mask the flavors, but between 6-10°C for the best experience. If you got the bottle at room temperature but you want to drink it as soon as possible, put it in an ice bucket filled with half water and half ice. You can rotate the bottle in it quickly a few times and then leave for 15 to 20 minutes. Done! Now, let’s open it!

First, you will need some tools to make it easier to open. Let’s start with a white cloth for opening a bottle. When you remove the foil and while twisting the tab, hold the cork and the cage with your thumb (which is super important!) and put the cloth on top of the cork. Then grab the cork firmly with the cloth during opening. If you do it that way, the cork is not going to fly away but stay in the cloth, and at the same time, if the wine wants to rush from the bottle, the cloth is going to get it and won’t spray it everywhere. When you want to pull the cork out, first you need to hold the bottle at a 45° angle so that the bottle pressure doesn’t bubble out. Always rotate the base of the bottle and never the cork! Like this, you will have much more control over the bottle.

Next, you should choose the correct glassware. There are four types of glasses frequently used for sparkling wines:

• The one that was trending in the 1950s is the Coupe Glass, but because the bubbles disappear quickly, we do not recommend it for a great Champagne.
• The second one is the Wide Tulip which can be great for vintage Champagne or Franciacorta because it leaves more contact with the oxygen so we can enjoy the complexity and flavors better with good effervescence.
• The Tulip Glass will be an excellent choice if you have Prosecco or a Rosé Sparkling to serve because it will pronounce the floral flavors in the glass.
• The most popular, is the Flute. It is usually used for Cava, Crémant, and non-vintage Champagne. In the Flute you can see the perlage beautifully.

 

However, we, at Wine in Time, prefer to use the Wide Tulip or a white wine glass to really enjoy the flavors and aromas of each sparkling wine. The flute is usually too narrow, so the aromas don’t come into the nose as perfectly as in a wider shaped glassware. If you don’t have all these kinds of glasses at home, you can just go with a white wine glass for everything. Now you have a perfect explanation of why for your guests too!

When you pour the sparkling wine, the best way is to hold the glass again at a 45° angle, so the bubbles won’t break down too soon. Try to pour a glass without holding the angle and one with a 45° and you can see the difference. But always pay attention to the mousse, if you pour it too quickly, you’ll get wet! Just slow down, and you won’t waste a drop.

 

Before, sparkling wines were a typical drink for an aperitif, but now this has changed for a good reason! Bubbles can be served throughout the whole meal; you just have to find the right style to pair with the right dish. For an aperitif, it is better to have a lighter style such as a Prosecco, non-vintage Champagne, or a Blanc de Blancs. For starters or seafood, our favorite pairing is again the Blanc de Blancs, a Franciacorta Satén, or a Cava with its freshness and citrusy flavors. As a main course, you can experiment with vintage Champagne, Franciacorta, or a Blanc de Noirs. In any case, there is always a perfect sparkling wine to pair with every dish.

 

There is so much more to talk about, but we hope that this little guide is still helpful when you want to sip on a good glass of sparkling wine, regardless of whether it is a Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, or an Aussie sparkling. Take a look at our sparkling wine selection here, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you need any help choosing the right bottle for you!

 

Here are some recommendations of our best selling sparkling wines: