If you've hosted a birthday party or a fancy dinner for a large group of people, you probably know the usual tricks. You know the perfect size of canapé (one mouthful), you've been inspired by monogrammed napkins on Pinterest and you've hand-crafted your own name places for the dinner table, but one trick that seems to be reserved for film and TV is the elusive champagne tower.
Why? Well, it's probably pretty obvious. Champagne is expensive and a tower of delicate glasses sounds famously precarious. But for those daring enough, it is bound to make any event large or small all the more memorable. With the dregs of summer unfolding and festive season hot on its heels, now is the time to perfect how to store and serve champagne – and also how to pile all your best glasses on top of each other. Fortunately, the team at Moët & Chandon have created a handy guide to assist you.
The Perfect Temperature
According to Marie-Christine Osselin, Moët & Chandon’s Wine Experiences & Communication Manager, champagne should generally be stored in a cool and dark place, not too humid nor too dry, with a constant temperature around 8-10°C.
Before service, the bottle should be transferred to a refrigerator a few hours or days in advance. Champagne is a wine that is particularly enjoyable at a certain temperature, so it is important to chill the bottle even further about fifteen minutes before drinking—don’t freeze it, just chill it to about 7 or 8 degrees in a bucket filled with one-third water and two-thirds ice cubes.
While it is best to finish a bottle of champagne on the same day the cork has been popped, if a bottle remains partly unconsumed, use a bottle stopper specially conceived to preserve pressure and bubbles. To be finished off in extended birthday celebrations the next day.
The Perfect Serve
Moët & Chandon believes the best way to enjoy champagne is in a white wine glass. Its larger bowl allows the wine to expand, enabling better enjoyment of its bouquet and the ability to savour a champagne’s full complexity. Traditional champagne flutes are nice for showcasing a champagne’s bubbles, but their narrow shape limits the drinker’s experience of various aromas and flavours.
To perfect the tasting experience, Moët & Chandon created the 870 Glass - developed by cellar master Benoît Gouez, scientist Gérard Liger-Belair, and glassmaker Gérard Lehmann. This specially designed glass highlights both the wine's complexity and its 870,000 bubbles per serving.
Constructing a stunning champagne pyramid for roughly 6-20 guests:
1) Prepare the champagne:
A 150 cl Magnum bottle of champagne is ideal for a champagne tower, to allow a large and consistent quantity of champagne to flow. Ensure that the champagne is well chilled to minimize foaming. Chill in a bathtub if needed! As above, fill with one-third water and two-thirds ice cubes.
2) Choose the location:
Select a secure place that also allows visibility to guests. The pyramid also requires a level surface to avoid any potential wobbling.
3) Choose the glassware:
Begin with clean and identical wide-brimmed 'coupe' glasses. Avoid flutes, as they tend to be less stable. If you do not have champagne coupes or several Moët & Chandon 870 Glasses, then use white wine glasses, which are also great for enjoying champagne.
4) Start the construction:
Carefully lay out your base layer of glasses in a tight square formation, or a flower-like rounded formation. As you begin the second layer, centre each glass above the point where the glasses meet below it. For each layer, gradually decrease the number of glasses to form a pyramid shape. Before pouring, test for stability by applying gentle pressure on different levels.
5) Begin pouring:
With a steady hand, start from the topmost glass and pour slowly; allow the champagne to overflow. The champagne will trickle into the glasses on the level below, filling until they overflow and fill the glasses below them, and so on. Simply continue pouring champagne into the top glass until all the other glasses are filled.
5) Et voilà:
Once the tower is filled, it’s time to allow your guests or invited people to grab a glass and make a toast!