subject: Points For Opening A Wine Bottle -- The Correct Way [print this page] You have spent hours creating the ideal atmosphere for your dinner party: the unequaled table setting, perfect lighting, and a fantastic guest list. You begin to open wine that you have so carefully chosen for the affair. The corkscrew begins to screw down into the cork and you realize that there are small fragments of cork falling into the wine. You pull carefully, attempting in vain to rescue the cork, but it doesn't work. There are now two pieces of cork and you wonder if one of your guests would notice if you just push it back into the wine bottle.
Even the most experienced wine aficionados may have problems opening a bottle of wine. There are many types of corkscrews on the market today. Below, you'll find a description of a few of those corkscrews and how to use them correctly. After all, you do not want to pour your guests a glass of cork!
One of the most well-known corkscrew is the wing corkscrew. This design has two wings that help remove the cork from the bottle of wine. There are difficulties with this design, however. The screw is normally too thick and short, which results in the cork to tear and fall apart. If you prefer to fight with almost every wine bottle you open, then this is the corkscrew for you.
The waiter's corkscrew is a little bit better. It the type you commonly see used in a restaurant. It resembles a pocket knife. It's used by firmly gripping the bottle's neck and pressing the screw into the centre of the cork. Begin twisting the corkscrew, but make sure to keep it as vertical as possible. When the corkscrew is completely in the cork, position the lever on the top of the bottle and pull. The cork should easily pull right out. If it doesn't, then chances are you have not got the screw down far enough in to the cork. Just twist a little bit more and try once again.
The screwpull corkscrew is one that works very well. The two sides resemble a clothespin and it has a lever on top and lengthy spiral. Hold both the bottle and the corkscrew with one hand. Start twisting the lever right and the cork will simply lift out. It is surprisingly easy and there are hardly ever pieces of cork in the bottle.
The butler's friend corkscrew looks complex, but it is quite user-friendly. There are two uneven, slim prongs and a handle. Instead of drilling in the middle of the cork, this model goes in between wine bottle and the cork. The the short prong goes on one side and the long prong on the other. The handle is then pushed back and forth until the corkscrew can go down no deeper. Just twist the cork out by pulling the corkscrew up. This is the best option for more mature wine bottles with very secure corks. If you try to use it with a loose cork, however, you will likely just press the cork into the bottle.
Once you have your wine bottle open, use a wine aerator to extract the best the wine can give. Try to find one that sits directly on top of the wine glass. Carefully pour the wine into the wine aerator and watch as any flakes or little pieces of cork are taken out. All that is left is a perfectly aerated glass of wine with its full flavor profile ready for you to savor.
