How To Create A Champagne Tower
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1 month ago
A step-by-step guide to a flowing spectacle
Seeking a way to level up your Christmas entertainment? Create a champagne tower; it’ll lend a tasteful touch of hedonism to your event. Here’s our step-by-step guide to constructing a stable yet impressive champagne tower, with advice from Moët & Chandon’s wine experiences manager Marie-Christine Osselin.
How To Construct A Champagne Tower
1. Prepare The Champagne
According to Marie-Christine, the ideal bottle is an 150cl magnum. ‘This is because it allows a consistent quantity of champagne to flow,’ Marie-Christine explains. The bottle should also be chilled to minimise foaming, and no fear if you don’t own a bucket: ‘in a bathtub if needed! Fill with one-third water and two-thirds ice cubes.’
2. Set The Scene
What a shame to go to all this effort and it to be set in a less-frequented cranny of your home. Aim for maximum spectacle, says Marie-Christine. ‘You want to allow visibility for your guests,’ she explains, ‘but it needs to be secure. The pyramid requires a level surface to avoid potential wobbles.’
3. Glassware Matters
‘We recommend avoiding flutes, as they tend to be less stable,’ Marie-Christine says. ‘We’d begin with clean and identical wide-brimmed coupe glasses, but if you don’t own any, you could use white wine glasses which are great for enjoying champagne.’
4. Start The Construction
Next comes the build. ‘Carefully lay out your base layer of glasses in a tight square formation, or a flower-like rounded formation,’ says Marie-Christine, ‘then, as you begin the second layer, centre each glass above the point where the glasses meet below it.’
‘For each layer, gradually decrease the number of glasses to form a pyramid shape. Before pouring, it’s important to test for stability by applying gentle pressure on different levels.’
5. Begin Pouring
’With a steady hand, start from the topmost glass and pour slowly,’ says Marie-Christine, ‘allow the champagne to overflow. The champagne will trickle into the glasses on the level below, filling until they overflow and fill the glasses below them, and so on. Simply continue pouring champagne into the top glasses until all the other glasses are filled.’
Further Tips
- ‘Place a tray underneath for spills and get assistance during both construction and pouring to make the process smoother.’
- ‘Have an extra bottle or two available for a continuous flow that cascades beautifully down the pyramid.’
- ‘Get some gloves to avoid any fingerprints on the glasses when setting up.’
- ‘Keep a small ladder at hand for high pyramids. Do not forget to hold it if guests wish to pour the champagne themselves: fun, but safety first!’
The Edit: Perfect Champagne Coupes For A Teetering Tower
The glasses really do make the tower – here are the coupes to covet this season.
