Guidelines for storing Champagne Moët & Chandon AVOID RAPID CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE 45 - 65°F / 7 - 18°C High temperatures speed up the ageing process and damage the quality of the wine. Cold temperatures slow down the development of the wine and prevent it from taking on more complexity. DO NOT EXPOSE CHAMPAGNE BOTTLES TO LIGHT Light can damage the wine Champagne is particularly sensitive to light. Transparent glass bottles must be especially well protected. HUMIDITY Above 70% Preserves the qualities of the cork (flexibility, density) Very low humidity and high temperatures can dry out the cork and cause rapid wine transformation. AVOID SHOCKS Handle with care There are 6 to 8 bars of pressure inside the bottle, i.e. three times the pressure in a car tire. OPENING THE BOTTLE Do not sabre the bottle Step 1: Tilt the bottle and release the wire. Step 2: Remove the wire and its cover, taking care to keep the cork in place. Avoid pointing the cork towards your guests. Step 3: With the cork still firmly kept in place, hold the body of the bottle with your other hand and turn it to gently to release the cork from the neck, making sure it doesn’t pop out. Champagne develops in its bottle : Champagne is a living being; it evolves over time. In addition to storage conditions, which have a direct impact on the quality of the wine and how it develops, the blends (vintage or non-vintage) it contains, as well as the shape of the bottle also determine how the champagne develops as time goes by. We usually recommend opening bottles of non-vintage brut: -75 CL 12 and 18 months after purchase 75 CL Up to 24 months after purchase +150 CL Up to 36 months after purchase The cellaring time for vintage champagnes is longer. They may be opened between 7 and 10 years after purchase, or even later than that. There is no benefit in keeping champagne longer than the recommended time. All the bottles of champagne that we sell have been aged in our cellars and they can be opened as soon as they are purchased. Keeping bottles longer may bring about changes in taste (more pronounced), colour (darker) and effervescence (less). In addition, the cuvées will probably develop differently from the one our oenologists wanted to convey.
