1920 Drinks by Jacques Straub

DRINKS

Champagne .Beginning with Champagne, I may say that the quality of this wine very often suffers greatly by being placed into the hands of inexperienced people. Upon receipt of a shipment of champagne or any other sparkling wine, the same should be promptly unpacked and every bottle inspected as to the soundness of the cork. All such that show signs of leakage should be used first, while the others should be stored lying down and be given a rest for several days. When conditioning Champagne for service, the chilling of the same should be slowly and care- fully done by placing the warm bottle in a re- frigerator for several hours and not packed in ice until shortly before serving. Taking wines from the case or shelf and pack- ing them in ice is a very serious mistake, as chilling too quickly robs them of their life and vinosity. Should the time for conditioning be short, place the wine in a bucket of cold water as it runs from the faucet, adding a few lumps of ice every ten to fifteen minutes and in this way preserve the good quality of your wine. Old vintage wines should be served at a tem- perature of about 45 degrees, while the young vintages showing more life are served best at about 38 degrees. Non-vintage Champagnes may be served at a temperature of 32 degrees. Upon taking the bottle from the cooler it should be well wrapped with a napkin so the warm hand of the waiter will not come in con- tact with the bottle and agitate the wine. Cap, wire and string should be carefully re- moved, head of bottle cleaned and the cork slowly drawn so all gas may be retained in the wine. Care should be taken to have the glasses clean and dry and to always serve the host first. This is an old time custom which is done to give the