Five tips to elevate your experience of Champagne

Ahead of Moët & Chandon’s star-studded Champagne Day affair at Cape Town’s Belmond Mount Nelson, winemaker Amine Ghanem offers up all the tips necessary to ensure your Champagne Day is one to remember.

Storing Champagne

Obviously the best place to store Champagne would be in an appropriate cellar. However, many of us may be tempted to store our bubby in the fridge. Ghanem recommends storing bottles of Champagne in a cool, dark place which retains a constant temperature (ideally between 8º and 18ºC). Fridges should be for chilling, not storing bottles. He also suggests keeping the bottle on its side rather than standing it up to ensure the wine is constantly in contact with the cork. Nonvintage Champagnes can be stored for up to 24 months while some vintages can last much longer — for five to 10 years or even more.

Chilling Champagne

When it comes to serving Champagne temperature is key and while it depends on the type of Champagne you are enjoying, most are best when chilled between 7º and 12°. Ghanem recommends 8º for the house’s brut. This can be achieved after about four hours in the fridge, or 15 to 30 minutes in an ice bucket. The winemaker’s top tip is to use one-third ice and two-thirds water, adding a good pinch of salt to your ice bucket to speed up the cooling process.

Opening Champagne

Once the bottle is suitably chilled, carefully remove it from the ice bucket and gently wipe it dry. Begin by removing the top section of the foil and then loosen the cage. Hold the bottle in one hand, tilting it at an angle and use the thumb of your other hand to keep the cork in place. Next turn the base of the bottle — not the cork — until the cork gently eases into your hand, there shouldn’t be a loud pop.

Pairing Champagne

“Champagne is not limited to caviar and oysters!” says Ghanem.  Champagne is a wine and incredibly versatile for pairings. At Moët & Chandon the team have some simple principles to guide Champagne pairings — the full guide can be viewed here, however the one which Ghanem gets most excited about is chromaticity — matching the colour of food with the aromatic notes in the Champagne.

The brut for example is light, bright and fresh.Here the winemaker suggests looking for bright, fresh and light on the plate — think burrata, fresh green herbs, light olive oils, salads and sushi — the freshness working remarkably well with salty flavours.

Rosé pairs really well with simple, and naturally colourful flavours, such as raw or lightly grilled red meat and fresh, red-fleshed fruits. Demi-sec is sweeter , allowing it to stand up to spicier foods, while being equally well suited to dessert.

Drinking Champagne

To experience the full aromas of the Champagne, he suggests opting for a wider-necked wine glass rather than a flute or coupe. What’s also important to note is that Champagne’s nose and taste change as the temperature changes. Therefore, hold the glass by its stem to reduce the transfer of heat from your hands, which will warm up the glass and wine.