THE ART OF UNCORKING A WINE BOTTLE

Posted By Ovia Ctsang Oinam on 2010-09-01 14:48:24

Before you let the first sip of the wine tingle your bud taste there are certain wine basics you need to mull over. You can begin with the selection of the wine first. This you can do by reading the label on the wine bottle as all the basic inputs about the wine is printed there, like its origin, growing areas, grape varieties, details of the alcohol content etc. Next you need to be able to distinguish the quality of two different wines from the same vineyard. All you have to do is keep in mind the quality and yield of grapes used to make the wines and also the quality of the soil. And for making a higher quality wine, generally good varieties of grapes would be used and better wine would have a greater potential of ageing.

After contemplating all of these basic requirements, you can now uncork your bottle. Well, opening a wine bottle can be a little intimidating if not opened correctly. The wine may get dribbled with little pieces of cork, almost leaving it undrinkable, or at least, unprepossessing in a glass. I will get to this later with different ways to uncork the wine bottle without much effort and exertion. So let’s move on to the best part of this whole thing, tasting the wine. Since it is the look and the smell that will articulate the taste of the wine, you can try it by pouring a glass of wine and then taking a good look at it. Tilt the glass away from you and check out the colour of the wine from the rim edges to the middle of the glass. Swirl your glass for 10-12 seconds and then take a quick whiff to gain the first impression. Finally take a taste. Start with a small sip and let it roll around your mouth. Well, these are some of the basics to spot a good quality wine.

Now let’s get on with the uncorking of the bottle. Like mentioned before, there are numerous ways to open a wine bottle, using equipment or even without equipment. Have a look at some of them and see if you can master this art and pass yourself as a pro.

WITH A CORKSCREW:

Step 1: Remove the foil or plastic covering the wine cork by opening the blade of the corkscrew and cutting around the rim of the bottle with the sharp point of the corkscrew. The corkscrew blade can inflict a nasty cut so you have to be very careful when you’re cutting.

Step 2: Take a moistened napkin and wipe the top of the cork. By doing this you’ll be removing any dirt that may have accumulated in the cork.

Step 3: Now open the corkscrew spiral and hold the wine bottle by the neck with one hand and the corkscrew in the other.

Step 4: Hold the corkscrew as vertically and straight as possible and place the sharp end directly into the middle of the cork.

Step 5: Start twisting the corkscrew clock-wise applying an even, constant downward pressure into the cork. As you do this the arms of the corkscrew will begin to rise. If the corkscrew does not penetrate the cork you need to apply more pressure.

Step 6: You have to keep on turning the handle of the corkscrew until the arms of the corkscrew are completely raised.

Step 7: Press the arms of the corkscrew down with your hands on each of the arm of the corkscrew. This will lift the cork out of the bottle.

Step 8: Lift the cork straight up by wrapping your hands around the base of the corkscrew. And using a firm pressure you twist the cork off the corkscrew.

WITHOUT A CORKSCREW:

Step 1: Before you start with this make sure your uncorking area has enough room for a wide release. A few standby towels couldn’t hurt.

Step 2: Use a screw driver to gently twist the screw into the center of the cork after removing the foil from the top of the bottle. The target is to yank the cork out cleanly so make sure to stop twisting the screw about 3/4ths of the way through the cork. When the screw is securely embedded with just enough sticking out from the top, you grip with the hammer

Step 3: Now get hold of a hammer and grip the exposed portion of the screw between the claws. Again the target here is to get a solid grip without loosening the screw.

Step 4: Then the final step which is yanking the cork. Be very careful with this one, you could get a hit on your face by the hammer. So when you are releasing the cork make sure the hammer is a one long, smooth tug away from the body.

WITHOUT USING ANY WINE ACCESSORY:

Step 1: First you need to wrap the bottom of the bottle in a towel or you can even put a phone book on the surface in the spot where the bottle will be hitting it.

Step 2: You can then hit the bottom of the bottle very firmly and evenly against a plane, erect surface like a wall or even a tree. The cork will slowly be pushed out due to the pressure of the wine.

Step 3: When the cork sticks out partially you can simply pull it out with your hands or you can even use a pliers if it doesn’t come off. Since you’re holding the bottle sideways, be careful the wine might spill out.

Now that you’re endowed with ideas and ways of opening a wine bottle, you can enjoy the goodness of wine without having to worry about uncorking the bottle. And there is a saying, “A person who can open a bottle of wine correctly without any spillage implies a certain cosmopolitan knowledge about the world that other people envy and emulate”. So, master the protocol of wine opening and make people green with envy. You’d like that, won’t you?

Last Updated on 2010-09-01 17:32:46

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