Put some fizz into the festivities How do

Bartender Pippa Guy gives SAM WYLIE-HARRIS five fun facts and two easy cocktails to help you swot up on your sparkle this Christmas

NOT sure how to serve up your fizz ahead of the festive season? Well, Pippa Guy, senior bartender at the worldrenowned American Bar at The Savoy and author of Let’s Get Fizzical: Over 50 Bubbly Cocktail Recipes with Prosecco, Champagne and other Sparkling Wines, can help.

“To make the best cocktails, you need to know exactly how to handle your fizz – plus having a few fun facts up your sleeve is a great way to amuse your guests while you make the drinks,” she explains.

How many grapes go into a bottle of bubbles?

IT takes approximately 600-800 grapes to make a bottle of sparkling wine. So, when you think about the time and labour that goes into producing the fruit, it’s no wonder a bottle of bubbly can get pricey.

you open bubbles safely?

BE careful when opening fizz. Open the wire cage and, keeping your hand over the cork, twist the bottle to ■ Let’s Get Fizzical by Pippa Guy, left (Dorling Kindersley, £7.65) release. Don’t twist the cork, and never open towards a person or breakable object.

How much pressure does fizz create?

THE pressure in a bottle of champagne is equivalent to the pressure in the tyre of a double-decker bus.

This means fizz needs extra thick bottles and corks to prevent it from exploding.

Can I keep it fizzy with a spoon?

SORRY to burst your bubble, but this is an old wives’ tale.

Sticking a spoon in the top of your bottle of bubbly won’t make it last any longer.

Seal it with a champagne stopper to retain the fizz.