The anatomy of a bubbly bottle

The foil covers the neck of the bottle and is there to protect the cork. It's often stamped with the words Cap Classique or Champagne, so you'll know at first glance what;s inside.

The mushroom-shaped cork seals the bottle, which contains three times more pressure than a car tyre - don't leave it unattended once you've removed the cage! Pro tip: to keep the cork in good condition, store your bottles of bubbles upright, not lying down as you do for still wines. The pressure of the gas in the bottle provides enough humidity to keep the cork moist. The cork might also be stamped with the producer's name, along with letters and numbers indicating the vintage and date of disgorgement (when the yeast was removed before the Champagne or Cap Classique was bottled).

The wire cage, covered by the foil, is also called the muselet and it helps to keep the cork in place. The cage includes a cap with the branding of the producer. How to open the bottle properly? Most of us remove the foil and cage, then ease out the cork and hope for a dramatic pop. But this usually results in foaming, and you'll lose some of the bottle's precious contents. Instead, sommeliers advise slightly loosening the cage, leaving it over the cork for good grip, then holding the cork in place with your thumb and using your other hand to slowly turn the bottle until the cork slides out quietly.

This is the thick glass rim at the top of the bottle neck. It's the anchor point of the cage, which is twisted closed below it. The glass of a bubbly bottle is thicker than the glass of a standard wine bottle, so that it can withstand the pressure inside.

A bottle of sparkling wine is filled up to the neck. If the level of bubbly is lower, this means the bottle has either leaked or the contents have started to evaporate. You can help prevent this by storing the bottle correctly.

The body of the bottle  displays the label, which will tell you whether you're drinking a Cap Classique, Champagne, Prosecco or Cava, as well as who the producer is and the vintage. If the grapes that were used to make the bubbly were all harvested in one exceptional year, it'll state the year; but if the wine is blended with grapes from multiple harvests, the label wil state non-vintage, or NV. It'll also state the style, such as whether it's a brut (0-12 g of reisdual sugar per litre) or demi-sec (32 - 50 g of residual sugar per litre) sparkling wine.

The heel or base, of the bottle contains a deep indentation called a punt. it's useful for accommodating your thumb if you like to show off and pour with one hand., but's it's really there to strengthen the structure of the bottle against the pressure created by the dissolved carbon dioxide (responsible for the fizz in your glass).

SHOP BUBBLY