Directions:

1. Before opening champagne, be sure your bottle is chilled to about 45-55 degrees. Fill your ice bucket with half ice cubes and half cold water and chill the bottle for about 30 minutes, or you can chill the champagne for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Once the bottle is chilled, dry it with a towel and remove the foil over the cork, leaving the wire hood intact. Never use a corkscrew to open a champagne bottle.
3. To properly open sparkling wine or champagne, grab the neck of the bottle with your left hand and place your thumb over the top of the cork. Tilt the bottle away from you at a 45-degree angle, pressing the bottom of the bottle against your body.
4. Next, use your free hand to pull down the wire tab and untwist it counter clockwise until it is loose.
5. Now, with a firm grasp still on the cork, slowly twist the bottle and tilt the cork slightly to let gas escape. The pressure of the bubbles should push the cork out quietly — and safely.
6. If, for some reason, the cork will not release, try running the neck of the bottle under hot water.
7. Freshly opened champagne, if sealed properly, will keep three days in the refrigerator.