Why You Shouldn't Actually Remove The Cage On Sparkling Wine

Opening sparkling wine can be intimidating whether you choose the dramatic option of sabering the bottle (at the right temperature, of course) or to simply twist off the cork. With so much carbon dioxide in the bottle to give the wine its signature bubbles, there's a lot of pressure behind that stopper. While the pressure makes it challenging to hang onto the cork once it starts easing out of the bottle neck, it can also make twisting and removing it difficult. Fortunately, the master sommelier of Le Bernardin restaurant in New York, Aldo Sohm, offers up a helpful tip and an explanation for keeping the cork's cage in place. 

If you remove the cage and try to twist the cork with your hand, it's easy for the smooth surface of your hand and the cork to slide against one another. While some people reach for a dish towel to help increase the traction, Sohm suggests simply leaving the cage on the cork and using it for the most grip. You should untwist the wire lock at the side, but leave the cage in place. The wires of this cage — aka muselet, meaning muzzle in French — easily and snugly grab onto the cork giving you optimal traction. Another tip is to hold the cork in place, inside the cage, and twist the bottle, rather than the other way around.

While getting to enjoy your glass of sparkling wine as soon as possible is reason enough to use this hack, there's another very good reason to carefully and correctly open sparkling wine. When sparkling wine bottles pop open and spray pours out of the bottle's mouth, you're losing the best and most important part of sparkling wine — its bubbles. By removing the cork more gently, the carbon dioxide gas does not become agitated, keeping the pressure at a manageable level. 

With these tips for properly opening sparkling wine bottles, you can easily and effectively remove the cork without wasting a drop. Whether you're serving Champagne for a special occasion or prosecco at brunch, any bottle with a cage can benefit from this hack. There are 20 types of sparkling wine out there, after all.