Last week a Texan guest at Balthazar asked me as I had just opened a bottle of Champagne, "How in the world should I open Champagne without dripping it all over the place and how can I tell if it's corked 'n' all"?

I answered her question in a brief table-side manner since I didn't want to bore her guests, but I told her I'd be happy to email her with more details. Here's my email to her:

- WHY POUR FLAT WINE WHEN IT SHOULD BE BUBBLY? For sparkling wine and Champagne, any seasoned sommelier will tell you that it’s poor form to open a bottle and hear a popping sound. Race car winners will surely disagree. Aim for hearing a slight hiss or sigh when the cork is removed. Why? A popping sound means that the cork is being opened too quickly, resulting in lost bubbles and often Champagne that foams out of the bottle and, well, on to the floor. Most of us would rather have that expensive Champagne in a glass. Quick fix to the popping problem: First, make sure the bottle is thoroughly chilled in a 50% ice/50% water bath, or very cold refrigerator. Never open a room temperature sparkling bottle. Then, after you’ve removed the foil and wire cage from the cork, hold the bottle at an angle pointing toward a corner in the ceiling, with the bottle’s bottom in your right hand (reverse the sequence if you’re left-handed) and grip the cork with the whole of your left fist. Simply twist the bottom of the bottle clockwise, but do not loosen your grip on the cork or even twist the cork at all. Secret sommelier tip: don’t even move your elbows or upper arms. And, no need to pull the cork, or to pull the bottom of the bottle away from the cork. By simply twisting the bottom of the bottle centimeter by centimeter, the cork will slowly nudge its way out. More bubbles and Champagne for everyone.

- DON’T DRIP ON ME. When pouring from a bottle of bubbly or still wine, the best way to avoid drips down the neck of the bottle, or worse on to your guests’ laps, is a simple 3-part exercise. 1: Don’t fully remove the foil capsule from the top of the wine bottle. Instead, cut the capsule below the second lower ridge at the top of the bottle neck. That cut foil ridge will catch most minor drips. 2. When you pour, do the hand-shake pour (e.g., extend hand with label of bottle facing guest, pour wine with a downward tilt of the wrist, tilt hand back up when done pouring, and immediately twist the bottle clockwise to prevent the drips from running down the bottle. The drips will run around the neck of the bottle. 3. Always be ready, like a sommelier, to catch any drips with a tightly folded cloth napkin in your left hand.

- WHEN GOOD WINE GOES BAD. Know the difference between what wine pros call “corked wine” and “cork in the wine glass.” Corked wine refers to the stinky, though sometimes not obvious effect, of wine contaminated by a harmless-to-humans reaction between the cork and the wine. The scientific name for it is trichloranisole, smelling slightly or strongly like moldy newspaper, or maybe a wet basement. Most wine pros will admit that they didn’t know what a corked wine was until smelling it at least a couple of times. One of the reasons why wine stewards (a.k.a., sommeliers) pour a small taste of the wine you ordered is for you to determine if the wine is corked, and smells like that moldy newspaper. Roughly 10% of all wines enclosed with corks are “corked.” That’s a fact that the wine business is not proud to admit. Changing gears here, what about “cork in the wine glass”? If you get little pieces of cork in your wine glass, no big deal. Just fish them out with the end of a spoon or fork, and you’ll look like you’re in the know, and more importantly, that you’ll enjoy your wine. Crumbles of cork in your glass will not impact the flavor. Even the best sommelier (we’re not super-human!) sometimes can’t prevent small pieces of cork from falling into the bottle when plunging the corkscrew into the cork. So, just fish ‘em out and sip.