HOW TO DO IT: Open wine bottles like a pro
Opening up a bottle of wine shouldn’t take too much time or effort. As we’ll show below, success mainly depends on whether you’re using the right kind of opener for your wine. Today, we no longer have to put up with the classic corkscrew – there are much better tools to choose from.
Many wine openers work on a similar principle and really only differ in the specifics of their design, or in their materials or appearance. However, there are still relevant differences in how they’re used. In order to select the right corkscrew, consider how often you’ll be using it, what kind of wines you like best, and you may also want to take their price into account.
Below, we’ll have a look at the most common types of wine openers and discuss exactly how they work so you can always open bottles like a professional sommelier. The equipment used in a regular household and a luxury restaurant will probably differ, but of course today you can even buy professional wine openers for home use.
The wine and the guests are waiting: which opener do you have in your drawer at home?
Probably the first one to peep out of your drawer is a wing corkscrew. Despite its somewhat bulky shape it’s still easy to store, easy to use, and quite affordable. It comes in chromed or colorful designs, and you can match it to the rest of your kitchen decor. You can also use this kind of opener on bottles with wider necks.
Principle of operation: The corkscrew has two “wings”. As the metal spiral of the corkscrew begins to twist into the cork, the wings are gradually lifted. It’s then possible to push the wings back down without too much effort, and this pulls the cork out.
A waiter’s corkscrew, which acquired this name because of its frequent use in restaurants, is also a practical and popular choice. One of the tools included is a small knife that helps with removing the capsule from the top of the bottle. It will also come in handy at home, because you won’t have to go looking for a suitable knife for this job.
Principle of operation: In high-quality waiter’s corkscrews we find a “two-step system”. It works like this: after the helix twists down into the cork, a metal lever with two sets of notches in it is used to brace against the top of the bottle’s neck, and this provides leverage to help us pull the cork out. The lever will be adjusted to use both sets of notches – in the first step, you pull the cork about halfway out, and then you use the second set of notches and pull it the rest of the way out.
If you don’t drink wine very often, perhaps an ordinary corkscrew will be sufficient to open the occasional bottle. At your cottage or on the way there you’ll be glad to have it so that you won’t have to resort to one of the methods for opening wine without a corkscrew.
Principle of operation: You simply screw the helix or “worm” into the cork and pull it out using force. It’s the need for a good deal of strength that often discourages women in particular from using this kind of corkscrew. Maybe you’ll recall holding a bottle between your knees or between your ankles on the floor while trying to pull the cork out of a bottle. And there’s nothing aesthetic or professional about this.
Challenge the wine with the lever and you don’t need to use force
A lever corkscrew works on an entirely different principle. Even at first glance it looks different than the rest of the types described above: it’s more robust and takes up more space. On the other hand, it comes in many elegant designs and therefore you don’t really have to hide it. Its practicality and ease of use will compensate for its bulk many times over.
Principle of operation: The lever wine opener does everything for you. The helix twists into the cork automatically, without you having to screw it in – you get to take advantage of the power of the lever that pushes the spiral in by itself. As the lever returns to its original position, the entire cork comes out effortlessly. After opening the wine, with an additional movement of the lever the cork is freed from the spiral, so you don’t have to “unscrew” it as you would with other types of openers. And that really sounds good, don’t you think?
Wine openers as a gift or design accessory
Are you looking for a gift for a wine lover, do you want to simplify opening wine as much as possible, or do you appreciate clever kitchen gadgets? Maybe you’d like an electric wine opener. It’s somewhat expensive, but they’re gaining in popularity.
Principle of operation: The electric opener has the shape of a closed cylinder with a corkscrew in the lower half. You place this against the cork, press the button once to screw it into the cork and again to pull the cork up – and just like when using a lever corkscrew, the job is easily done. The most recent models have lights inside so you can see what’s happening with the cork or other type of plug.
Our tip: An electric wine opener can also measure the temperature of your wine and the ambient temperature so that you always serve it under ideal conditions. Thanks to rechargeable batteries, you won’t be bothered with any cords and the indicator will let you know in time when it’s time to go recharge it.
How to open vintage wine, or how the two-pronged cork puller works
We’ve left the issue of opening vintage wines until the very end, because it’s different than opening bottles that were intended to be consumed soon after purchasing. After long-term archiving, corks can become very fragile – this means that the use of the wine openers described above could lead to them breaking or disintegrating, and then there might be little crumbs of cork in the wine.
This is why professionals keep a two-pronged cork puller, which has two metal blades, on hand. If you’re serious about vintage wines you’ll also want to have one in your household.
Principle of operation: The two-pronged or bladed cork-puller, sometimes called an “Ah-so” wine opener, works on an entirely different basis. You carefully slide the blades into the space between the cork and the inside of the bottle’s neck. First the long one, and then wriggle both of the blades down along the sides of the cork until you get them all the way in. If the cork slides down into the neck of the bottle during the operation it’s possible to twist the opener and pull it back up a little.
Then you grasp the opener by its top part, which is similar to the top of a regular wine opener and pull upward on the cork with a twisting movement to loosen and release the cork. Proceed slowly and carefully throughout the entire process and hold onto the neck of the bottle with your other hand so that an unexpected movement doesn’t cause it to slip away.
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