10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Champagne

Dazzle your New Years Eve guests with your knowledge about the golden wine from France. Tim Elliott from Honest Cooking with a list of 10 things you might not already know about Champagne.

With a new year fast approaching we have compiled some Champagne trivia to share while toasting your friends and family this weekend.

10) In the movie adaptations James Bond drinks Champagne more than any other beverage (nearly 40 glasses and counting).

9) The classic Champagne coupe was adapted from a wax mold made from the breast of Marie Antoinette.

8) There is about 90 pounds per square inch of pressure in a bottle of Champagne. That's more than triple the pressure in an automobile tire.

7) A Champagne cork reaches a velocity of about 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour) if popped out of the bottle. We recommend carefully twisting the cork out with a towel covering the bottle so no wine escapes and you don't hurt a bystander.

6) Actress Marilyn Monroe took a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne. We are sure it was not at the proper temperature for drinking, however.

5) The longest recorded flight of a Champagne cork is over 177 feet (54 meters).

4) Don't drink Champagne quickly or the bubbles will cause the alcohol to enter your bloodstream too fast often causing a headache. Savor your Champagne in small sips to taste the wine but also dissipate the bubbles before swallowing.

3) A Champagne riddler can turn as many as 50,000 bottles in a single day.

2) The largest bottle size for Champagne is called a Melchizedek and is equal to 40 standard bottles or 30 liters.

1) There are approximately 49 million bubbles in a standard sized bottle of Champagne.

Great sparkling wine is made all over the world but the most famous, and still unrivaled for quality, is made in France. We wish you a happy and prosperous 2012 no matter what you choose to celebrate with.

Photo by Anders Adermark via Flickr
More from Honest Cooking