With or without a pop?
A bottle of prosecco, although frequently served in Italy to accompany a whole meal, is often the wine of choice to toast a celebration or an anniversary. By consequence, many associate the opening of this sparkling wine with the noisy and potentially wasteful ‘pop’ typically reserved for such occasions. However, this manner is considered neither correct nor elegant. First and foremost, this wine’s label envisages a much more sober affair of opening, silent and discrete, with wine connoisseurs instead recommending a precise procedure for its opening. Let us discover how to do it together.
La mise en place
To do the job well, like a true sommelier, a number of instruments are required: a bucket for the bottle, a cork screw, a clean white cotton handkerchief and of course wine glasses. The temperature of the bottle is of great importance: the perfect temperature being 6 or 7 degrees centigrade. If the bottle is not cool enough, the pressure within the bottle will cause the cork to exit violently. The low temperature also helps to control the pressure of the bubbles within the bottle, thus avoiding that the wine spurts upon the cork’s removal. The temperature of the bottle also plays a role in the wine’s tasting: if not tasted at 6 or 7 degrees, the prosecco might not be perceived as well balanced and the bubbles may be considered unrefined.
How to open a bottle of prosecco
Now that everything is ready, the moment has arrived to open the bottle of prosecco. First of all, the foil capsule is removed, revealing the cage and the cork. The cage should be loosened and opened whilst applying pressure to the top of the cork to prevent it from popping prematurely. One of the most common errors is to try and rotate the cork; instead, it is the bottle which should be turned. This step must be performed delicately to avoid the possibility of the cork breaking within the neck of the bottle. At a certain point, a hiss of gas will escape from the bottle: this is the moment to stop turning the bottle and carefully ease the last part of the cork out, keeping it securely within the palm of the hand. And so we have it, the bottle of prosecco is open and ready for serving.
