Fizzy Magic

Okay, say you've popped the cork on a bottle of your favorite champagne, and you and your Beloved have had a glass or two to celebrate your 67th birthday but, being older than dirt now, you know you can't finish the bottle. It's a sad reflection on aging, but aging is, after all, better than the alternative.

So, you decide to save the rest of the champagne for later. "Once it's opened, you know it won't keep!" I hear you exclaim. That's where this little trick comes in, learned from My Beloved's mother, who was a wonderful woman and a fount of worldly wisdom. 

You put a silver spoon into the neck of the bottle until the bowl of the spoon comes to rest on the neck. Stash it in the fridge and, magically, the bubbles stay in. I have never found an explanation for why this works, I just know that it does. Nor do I know why it must be a sterling silver spoon, because stainless spoons don't work. There is lots of evidence, pro and con, on the interwebs, but neither side prevails. I say it's magic, and you just have to believe.

I have always wondered if a gold spoon, being an even more precious metal, would be even better, but my budget and my taste don't run to gold spoons to test out my theory. All I know is that we went away on a weekend celebration and when we returned three days later, there was still enough pizazz in that bottle to make excellent mimosas to fight the head cold I picked up from my tutoring students. 

(And, yes, I can heartily recommend mimosas for head colds. They don't fix the problem, but they encourage you not to care.)

So, from my advanced age, I raise my glass to My Beloved's dear mother and pass along her magical wisdom to you. 

You're welcome.