---
slug: how_to_store_champagne
category_path: home_kitchen/kitchen_dining/dining_entertaining/glassware_drinkware/champagne_flutes
title: "How to Store Champagne"
lead: "Keep unopened Champagne somewhere cool, dark and still — around 10–13°C, away from light, heat swings and vibration — and don't leave it in the kitchen fridge for months. Once opened, seal it with a proper sparkling-wine stopper and keep it in the fridge, where it holds its fizz for one to three days."
recommendation:
  name: "Cool, dark and steady while unopened; a sparkling-wine stopper in the fridge once opened"
  reason: "Champagne is sensitive to heat, light and movement, so an unopened bottle keeps best lying in a cool, dark, vibration-free spot at a fairly steady 10–13°C — a cellar or wine fridge is ideal. Short stays upright or on the side are both fine; what actually ages it badly are warmth, temperature swings, bright light (which gives wine an off 'light-struck' taste) and constant jostling. The kitchen fridge is fine for chilling a bottle for a day or two before serving, but not for months, because it's cold, dry, vibrates and can dry the cork over time. To serve, chill the bottle in the fridge for about four hours, or 20–30 minutes in an ice-and-water bath. Once it's open, the enemy is lost pressure: push a spring-loaded sparkling-wine stopper onto the neck and return it to the fridge, and it will keep usable bubbles for one to three days. The old trick of hanging a teaspoon in the neck does nothing — only a sealed stopper slows the fizz escaping."
published: 2026-07-09
updated: 2026-07-09
---


<ComparisonTable
  columns={["State", "Do", "Why"]}
  rows={[
    ["Unopened", "Cool (10–13°C), dark, no vibration", "Heat, light and shaking spoil it"],
    ["Long term", "A wine fridge, not the kitchen fridge", "Stable temp; the fridge dries the cork over months"],
    ["Opened", "Reseal with a sparkling stopper, fridge", "Traps pressure, keeps bubbles 1–3 days"],
    ["Myth", "A spoon in the neck does nothing", "Only a sealed stopper keeps the fizz"],
  ]}
/>