Uncorking a Bottle of Wine
To help you avoid some of the pitfalls involved, Commonwealth Wine & Spirits has prepared the following easy-to-follow step by step guide.
1. Choose Your Opener
Countless varieties of corkscrew exist, but the standby commonly used in restaurants is:
The Waiter
2. Prepare for the big moment!
Dust the bottle carefully before presenting.
Remove capsule: if bottle is sealed with a traditional lead or foil capsule, trim away top below lip of bottle neck using the knife located on top side of the corkscrew. If plastic, look for a pull-tab just below the lip of the bottle neck.
Give bottle neck a quick wipe over: to remove dust, dirt or unsightly mold.
3. Take Aim and Fire!
The Waiter’s Friend: Insert point of spiral-shaped screw into center of cork, pressing down firmly. Gently twist in clockwise direction (exerting too much pressure might push the cork down inside the bottle). Place claw over lip of the bottle neck and lever gently until cork is extracted.
Corked?
Bottle corked? It happens, as we say in the trade, though happily not too often. Suffice it to say that on occasion a small amount of naturally occurring fungus presents itself in the cork and manages to evade an initial sterilization process. If the infected area then comes into contact with the wine, the wine will acquire an unpleasant, moldy odor.