Earlier this month, I was at a birthday party and one of the guests expressed her irritation with people who pop the corks on champagne and sparkling wines.

Is there a proper way to open a bottle of sparkling wine or champagne? Absolutely! Does the average American really care? I doubt it. (I said average, not the aficionados)

In Europe, one would not even consider "popping" a cork and letting it fly, much less make an extremely loud noise. In France, people who did that would be considered classless cads.

There is truly a proper and traditional way to present a bottle and open one at the table or in a party situation. Less seasoned champagne consumers think that it is cool to make a loud presentation but, they are actually compromising not only their personal image, but the integrity of the beverage inside the bottle. When a cork is allowed to fly out of the bottle, air gets in and therefore bubbles subside and champagne begins to taste flat. If there is one thing you do not want to lose in champagne, it's the bubbles, that make it fun to drink, and tasty, of course.

The proper way to present and open a bottle of sparkling wine and or champagne:

Assuming we are in a restaurant atmosphere, present the bottle to the guests, with the label facing the person who ordered the wine.

Rest the bottle on the table and hold it with your nondominant hand (the left hand if you're right-handed), the thumb pressing down on the top of the cork. With your dominant hand, cut around the bottom of the foil or pull the perforated strip to free the foil. Gently untwist the cage (the twisted wire securing the cork). Now here is the tricky part: Don't shake the bottle, but quickly remove the cage and place your thumb back on the cork again.

There are several ways to prevent unplanned injuries at this point, but one sure way is to have a cloth napkin or towel loosely wrapped around the bottle and over the top. If the cork were to unload on its own, it would hit the napkin and not some poor saps nose or worse yet, an eye.

Having a background in the field of ophthalmology before being in the wine industry, I have witnessed the results of a cork gone wild, hitting someone in the eye and detaching their retina. This is no joke. So all fun aside, take care not to let loose without some sort of safety net, preferably the napkin or your hand.

OK, so now you have the cage off, the cork covered and you are ready to open that bottle. Gently twist the bottle, not the cork, in a clockwise direction, while holding the bottle at a 45-degree angle. The less hoopla you get from bottle opening, the more flavor and wine you will have left in the bottle. If you pop the cork, a quarter or more of the contents may shoot out, leaving a less-than-desirable foamy substance which is not exactly easy or pleasurable to drink.

In my book, it is a sin to waste good champagne or sparkling wine. If you absolutely, positively feel the need to pop a bottle and make a mess — in a locker room, for example — please choose something that doesn't cost more than a $5!

A few suggestions for wines that are worth opening properly: