Celebrating a birthday or promotion? Maybe you're just revving up for New Year's Eve. In any event, you will want to understand how to open a bottle of champagne with elegance and safety. Sure, people always pop open champagne with abandon in movies. With its energetic fizz and froth, champagne (any sparkling wine, really) has always been associated with celebration. Yet you will find that opening a bottle of champagne requires technique. Here's how to do it.

First, ensure your bottle is well chilled. If it is not the right temperature, you can risk the bottle opening prematurely, which can be dangerous as well as a waste of good bubbly. Second, set out your tools in advance. What do they include?

1. One or two clean white cloth napkins
2. A bucket half filled with ice, half filled with water
3. Champagne glasses

Step One: Using a waiter's knife (in many corkscrews) or other tool, remove the foil in a neat fashion from the top of the champagne.

Step Two: Slowly untwist, but DO NOT REMOVE, the wire cage. This is a form of protection so the cork does not go flying out.

Step Three: Place one of the napkins over the cork, and slowly twist the bottle (not the cork) while keeping the palm of your hand firmly on the cork.

You will know when the pressure has lessened and the cork can slowly be worked from the neck of the bottle.

Pouring the Champagne

Step One: Pour a very small amount, very slowly, in the first glass. Fill the remaining glass or glasses, then slowly refill all glasses to a few inches away from the top.

Note that some people have perfected their pour, so that by pouring a very small stream of champagne into a glass, they can fill each glass in one go.

Now that your champagne is open, make a toast and enjoy!