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Champagne bottles have high pressure due to carbon dioxide bubbles, making flying corks dangerous. The American Academy of Ophthalmology warns of serious eye damage, so open bottles carefully at a 45-degree angle and avoid shaking.
Have you ever wondered why there is a warning on champagne and sparkling wine bottles warning consumers to point the bottle away from people when opening? There’s a good reason for that caveat. It’s the same force that sends a balloon flying across the room as it expels air: pressure. The champagne is filled with millions of bubbles of carbon dioxide and they are kept under pressure by the tight corking process. In fact, the pressure inside a champagne bottle can be as high as 90 pounds per square inch. That’s about three times higher than the pressure inside the average automobile tire, which typically registers 32 to 35 psi. The American Academy of Ophthalmology warns consumers that a flying champagne cork can cause serious damage if it hits the eye, including rupture of the eye wall, glaucoma, retinal detachment, bleeding, lens dislocation and damage to the bone structure of the eye . A person might even require urgent eye surgery, and a plug in the eye can even lead to blindness. Clearly, bottles of champagne must be opened with caution.
Tips for safely uncorking:
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the person opening a champagne bottle should hold it at a downward 45-degree angle as they remove the plastic cage from the cork.
Chilled champagne is less likely to have unexpected cork release, and bottles should never be shaken before opening.
Place a towel on top of the bottle and unscrew the cap, holding it at a 45-degree angle, and apply downward pressure as the cap pops out of the bottle.
