There is nothing that brings a little sparkle to your holiday get together with friends and family more than champagne. In fact, Americans will consume more than one billion glasses of champagne this year, over 40 percent during the holiday season, according to Impact Databank. While champagne will add the sparkle, what you do not want to add are injuries to your holiday festivities.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the careless handling of champagne is one of the most common causes for holiday-related eye injuries. These injuries are often caused by improperly opening the bottle, as a champagne cork is just under 90 pounds of pressure – three times the pressure inside a car tire. So, before you break open a high-pressured bottle of bubbly, it is important to know the proper technique. By following these simple tips, you can open the champagne bottle like a pro – without injury or spilling.

While the popping of a cork may sound festive and exciting, it tends to waste champagne and can be dangerous. The recommended way to properly open a bottle is to ease the cork out slowly, with the sound of a gentle sigh. In order to celebrate this holiday season without injury (or wasting champagne) follow these five easy steps:

1. Make sure your champagne is chilled and unshaken. Chill the bottle for at least four hours in the refrigerator (a warm bottle is more likely to pop unexpectedly).
2. Remove the foil cap covering the top of the bottle, exposing a wire hood.
3. Undo the wire hood with six half-turns of the knob.
4. Hold the bottle at a 45 degree angle while holding the cork firmly with one hand and the base of the bottle with the other. Be sure to point the bottle away from your guests.
5. Do not twist the cork.  Rather, turn the bottle slowly while letting the cork glide out gently, emitting a gentle sigh.

Note: Never use a corkscrew.  A champagne cork is highly compressed. If a corkscrew is inserted at an angle, you may have an exploding bottle in your hand.

Other Champagne tips:

• Expect six generous glasses from one standard size (750ml) bottle.
• The most popular champagne is Brut – it is medium-dry, light, and crisp.
• There are more than 50 million bubbles in a standard bottle of champagne.
• It is best to serve champagne in tapered champagne flutes, as they highlight the fine stream of bubbles. While short, wide goblets can be used in a pinch, they tend to cause the bubbles to dissipate quickly.
• When transporting champagne, keep the bottles upright. The shaking bottles receive in the car can cause champagne to quickly lose its sparkle after opening.  Upright bottles keep wine movement to a minimum and the bubbles in the wine.
• Crisp and versatile, Brut, Natural, Chardonnay, and Brut Rose are delicious with hors d’oeuvres and rich enough to enjoy with many main courses. Sweet Rose, Extra Dry, and Sweet Cuvee offer a bit of sweetness that works well as an aperitif or paired with dessert.
• Celebrate responsibly.  Don’t drink and drive; take a taxi or have a designated driver do the honors.  The best celebrations are those from which everyone gets home safely.

The article Five Safety Steps for Popping the Cork appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

With the release of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) new 2010 drunk driving fatality data, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is pleased to announce that this decline in fatalities means that drunk driving deaths have now been cut by more than half since MADD’s founding 31 years ago.

New data from NHTSA shows that driving fatalities have dropped 4.9 percent from 10,759 in 2009 to 10,228 in 2010. The first-ever recording of drunk driving fatalities nationally was 21,113 in 1982.

“MADD is proud to see that the hard work of millions of Americans who’ve taken a stand against drunk driving have helped cut this deadly crime in half since our founding,” said MADD National President Jan Withers. “However, one life impacted by this terrible crime is one life too many as there are still more than 10,000 drunk driving fatalities and hundreds of thousands of injuries every year.”

Withers’ daughter, Alisa, was killed by an underage drinking driver in 1992, leading Withers to join the fight against drunk driving and underage drinking.

Today’s announcement of a significant reduction in drunk driving fatalities marks another victory in MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. Launched in 2006, after more than a decade of stagnant fatality data, the Campaign has seen a 24 percent decrease in drunk driving fatalities in its first four years.

“More than 3,200 fewer people were killed last year than in the previous four years,” said Withers. “That’s 3,200 families who did not receive that terrible, life-changing call or visit from law enforcement letting them know their loved one wasn’t coming home again.”

In its long history, MADD has worked tirelessly to cut the number of fatalities in half. MADD’s grassroots efforts have supported landmark legislation such as the national .08 blood alcohol concentration standard and the 21 minimum drinking age. MADD and its many supporters have changed the culture in this country, from one that accepted drunk driving as a fact of life to one that recognizes drunk driving as a 100 percent preventable crime.

In 2009, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s day, nearly 1,000 people were killed on America’s roadways. Unfortunately, millions of drivers still jeopardize their safety and the safety of others by driving under the influence.

That’s why during this holiday season, MADD continues to focus efforts on its Campaign to eliminate this primary threat to families on our roads, and support law enforcement as the nation prepares for a major crackdown on drunk driving.

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The article Glass Half-Full: MADD Halves Drunk-Driving Fatalities appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.