When it comes to sparkling wine, there’s always a lot of pressure to open the bottle correctly, and maybe even with a bit of style. (Nothing can kill a party like an errant cork hitting a guest in the face.) But popping a bottle of bubbly on TV in front of a national audience? That adds a whole extra layer of stress.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that can go wrong between getting the Champagne out of the fridge and saying “cheers” with your friends. One of the most common errors is taking the cage off prematurely, which leaves the cork primed to pop out at any moment. Then there are the attempted sabering flexes, which, if you aren’t a seasoned professional, almost always end in chaos.
Here are four very memorable TV moments that demonstrate how not to open (or drink) sparkling wine at home.
‘The Bachelor’
On Jan. 13, 2020, after the second episode of Peter Weber’s season of “The Bachelor” aired, a dispute that came to be known as “Champagne gate” shook Bachelor Nation. In the cocktail hour leading up to the rose ceremony, contestant Kelsey Weier had set up a romantic picnic for her and “Pilot Pete” to sit and enjoy a bottle of sparkling wine she brought from home. But when she went to go find Pete for their rendezvous, he was already sitting with competitor Hannah Ann Sluss next to the sparkling wine.
Weier storms off upset that her Champagne moment was ruined — though the bottle was apparently from Des Moines, so it wasn’t technically Champagne, but rather Iowa’s finest. Pete ran after her, looking to salvage the moment and finally enjoy the wine together. He recklessly shoots the cork out of the bottle and gives a few “woohoos” to try to make her feel better and offers to get some glasses. Weier insists she’s fine without glasses: “We can just drink from the bottle. … I’m not a classy b*tch all the time, so that’s fine.” She takes a sip straight from the bottle and it backfires, spraying all over her face. Though it was an unfortunate situation for Weier, it gave us one of the most iconic moments in recent ‘Bachelor’ history.
‘Global BC Morning News’
New Year’s Eve is a time rife with potential for Champagne fails. One Canadian news channel, “Global BC Morning News” thought it would help its viewers prepare for the holiday with a segment on sabering Champagne, which aired on Dec. 30, 2014. The news team brought on Four Seasons wine director Emily Walker to show the audience how it’s done, but the results were less than ideal. After Walker demonstrates the motion of how to use the large knife to remove the top of the bottle’s neck, she gives it a real go, and the bottle shatters, sending wine and glass everywhere. What’s worse is that she has the show’s host try shortly after, which unsurprisingly yielded similar results: a broken bottle and a puddle of wine on the floor. We can’t help but notice the bottles were barely put on ice here, and it’s essential to have a well-chilled bottle when attempting to saber. Hopefully they learn for next time.
‘With Love, Meghan’
While nothing explodes or breaks, any true Champagne lover will cringe at how Meghan Markle Sussex handles a bottle of Taittinger in her new Netflix series, “With Love, Meghan.” In the show’s second episode, “Welcome to the Party,” the Dutchess of Sussex meets with actress and writer Mindy Kaling to throw together a whimsical children’s birthday party equipped with rainbow fruit boards and caprese sandwiches that resemble little lady bugs, naturally.
While the two catch up and start preparing for the event, Markle Sussex decides to open a bottle to sip as they go. She takes the foil off the bottle, removes the cage from the cork, and proceeds to just let the bottle sit there for minutes as she plates an egg dish she was working on. This might seem fine to most onlookers, but for those who know how intense the pressure inside a bottle of Champagne can be, the dutchess might as well have had a loaded gun on the countertop. The cork may not have popped off this time, but we hope she learns how to safely pop a bottle before one flies into her face.
‘Emily in Paris’
While this is a scripted TV show, the events that unfold definitely act as a major warning of what can happen while trying to saber Champagne (as we saw above). In Season 2, Episode 8 of “Emily in Paris” — appropriately titled “Champagne Problems” — Emily is filming a social media campaign for her friend Camille’s family Champagne brand. Camille’s father, Gerard, decides to get the saber out to add some wow-factor to the video. After a few failed attempts, he finally opens the bottle of Champagne and proudly turns to the camera to say: “Je suis le Champère! And this is how I pop my top!” Only to realize a few seconds later that he also accidentally cut off his own finger. Another warning about the unpredictable nature of sabering sparkling wine!
*Image retrieved from Gina Sanders via stock.adobe.com