Dom Perignon famously said after his first sip of champagne, "Come quickly! I am tasting stars!" and I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment.
Somehow toasting "new things" such as weddings, births, raises, a new house or apartment and New Year's with champagne has become an American tradition. Extensive research didn't tell me why though. I would like to think it's the energetic effervescence of the drink itself. Few things sound as cheery to me as the pop! of a bottle of champagne being opened. It's very nearly a guarantee that good things are just about to happen.
When we serve it here at the house, the guys present like to open it out on the balcony -- to see how far the cork will fly out into the yard below. Guys (shake of the head) - It's always a contest, you know?
Heloise the Practical took pen in hand to advise us not to let champagne age; it's a "now" drink. Amen, Heloise! She went into sizes of the various bottles -- some of them I didn't even know existed (but well worth looking into.) Here is Heloise's list:
Split - 18.7 of a centiliter; a centiliter is a 10th of a litre.
Half bottle - 37.5 centilitres
Bottle = 75.0 centilitres
Magnum = two bottles
Double magnum or Jeroboam = four bottles
Rehoboam = six bottles
Methuselah or Imperial = eight bottles
Salamanazer = 12 bottles
Balthazar = 16 bottles
Nebuchadnezzar = 20 bottles and weighs 83 pounds! How the hell you'd serve one is beyond me so I hastily e'd my nephew, a professional sommelier, about it. As he is also a bachelor, he is unlikely to give me an answer before noon on a Sunday, so ... when I find out, you will, too. I would imagine it's set in a tilting rack of some sort for pouring.
HuffPost.com printed advice on how to get champagne stains out of clothing, napkins, etc. and frankly, I take issue with that. Champagne doesn't stain! And I ought to know, okay? I am a veteran champagne swigger. The worst it can do is a light stickiness. HuffPost says to keep a small bowl of warm water with mild dishwashing soap in it to daub at the sticky spot and then rinse with daubs of clean, warm water.
Humph - what a bunch of spoilsports! They'll never taste the stars...poor things.
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