🍷 Muselet

The muselet is a wire cage that holds the cork of a sparkling wine. It covers the neck of the bottle and is fixed to it with wire loops. Inside a bottle of sparkling wine the pressure is high, and without the muselet the cork would be pushed out.

The device was invented in France in the 19th century. A classic muselet has a round metal plate on the cork, with wire passing under it, and is usually twisted with six turns. It is covered on top with foil. To open the bottle, the wire is first loosened while holding the cork with a hand.

The muselet is needed for all sparkling wines made by the traditional method: Champagne, Cava, Crémant and others. It is part of the sparkling wine stopper and bottle set. Sparkling bottles are thicker than ordinary wine bottles and have a ring on the neck that the muselet grips. Such bottles should be opened carefully: the cork can shoot out with great force, so it is better to hold it by hand and point it away from people.