What temperature to serve champagne?

There's a common mistake with champagne: people serve it ice-cold, straight from the back of the fridge where it's been sitting at 4 °C. At that temperature, the bubbles feel harsh and the flavour profile flatlines — you're basically drinking expensive fizzy water.

For a standard non-vintage brut — the everyday celebration bottle — 8–10 °C (46–50 °F) is the sweet spot. At this range, the mousse (that's what the French call the foam) is delicate and creamy, the acidity lifts rather than bites, and you can actually taste the brioche and citrus notes.

Vintage champagnes and prestige cuvées deserve a little more warmth, around 10–12 °C (50–54 °F). These bottles have spent 5–10 years ageing on their lees, developing complex flavours of dried fruit, honey, and toasted hazelnut. Serve them too cold and you'll miss everything you paid a premium for.

Rosé champagne falls between the two — 8–10 °C for fresh, fruity styles, up to 11 °C for the richer, maceration-based rosés that have more body.

The easiest method: put the bottle in the fridge 3 hours before serving, or use an ice bucket (half ice, half water) for about 20 minutes. Never use the freezer — champagne is under about 6 atmospheres of pressure, and a forgotten bottle can literally pop its cork (or worse, crack) in as little as 30 minutes.