It happened shockingly fast. I was recently at a party when a champagne cork unexpectedly exploded from the bottle and hit a guest hard in the face, narrowly missing an eye. Out came the ice packs. Let’s talk about how to minimize the chances of this happening to you.
First, keep your thumb on top of the cork at all times, even when the wire cage is in place on the bottle. While you are unscrewing the cage, continue to keep your thumb on the bottle top. Aim the bottle away from yourself and as the cage is slipped off, immediately put your thumb back on the bottle top. Remove the cork as you normally would, possibly with a towel for grip, but always aimed away from yourself or your guests.
As our wine buddy Mark Raymond says, if you pull the cork while holding the bottle at a 45 degree slant, it won’t bubble over in a wasteful way.
