Be cork careful: You could put an eye out

GUERNEVILLE, Calif., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Champagne adds sparkle to the holidays, but careless handling of the bubbly beverage is a common cause for holiday-related eye injuries, U.S. experts say.

Eye injuries often are caused by improperly opening champagne bottles -- the cork is under 90 pounds of pressure, says Gary Heck, owner of Korbel Champagne Cellars.

Before breaking open a bottle of the carbonated beverage, it's important to know the proper technique. Heck advises to:

-- Make sure champagne is chilled and unshaken for at least four hours.

-- Remove the foil cap covering the top of the bottle and undo the wire hood with six half-turns of the knob.

-- Hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle while holding the cork firmly with one hand and the base of the bottle with the other. Never point a bottle toward guests.

-- Do not twist the cork, turn the bottle slowly while letting the cork glide out gently, emitting a gentle sigh.

"Champagne is for sipping, not spraying," Heck says in a statement.

Dr. Preston Blomquist of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas says wayward corks can cause serious eye injuries such as ruptured globes, detached retinas and painful bruising.