How long should you chill Champagne for

Serving Champagne at the right temperature can improve the taste of the wine...

It’s easy to leave chilling the Champagne as an afterthought, but it’s worth getting right at Christmas.

‘The best way to chill Champagne is in a bucket full of ice which takes about 10-15 minutes,’ said Clement Robert, sommelier at 28-50 Maddox Street. ‘For magnums, it’s about 25 minutes.’

If you need to hurry things along, Robert recommends using a lot of ice, plenty of rock salt and a little water.

‘The salt will melt the ice very quickly, the melted water being very cold and the Champagne will get chilled in less than 10 minutes.’

If you’ll be using your fridge to chill it, things will take longer – depending on the temperature of your fridge and how full it is – so plan ahead.

Chilling Champagne for Christmas

For lunchtime drinking on Christmas day, Decanter tastings director Christelle Guibert recommends putting it in the night before, ‘because the fridge will probably be full and it will take longer to chill.’

‘However, a quick way to chill Champagne is 20 minutes in the freezer – but don’t forget it as it could be a disaster!’

‘Wine sleeves are also very good and you should always have two or three in your freezer.’

If you’re travelling elsewhere for Christmas, but bringing the Champagne, Robert recommends using isotherm bottle bags.

‘They’re brilliant – and look for the ones where you can slide an ice pack on the side pocket.’

More Champagne advice:

image of champagne bottles in the cellar at Bollinger

The wine cellar of the French champagne house Bollinger. Credit: Bertrand Guay / AFP via Getty Images

How long to chill Champagne for – ask Decanter