Before you can experience those subtle nuances of dried cherry, new leather, tar, black olives and garrigue, you need to be able to uncork that bottle of wine. Since there are literally hundreds of devices to extract a cork out a wine bottle, what is YOUR best bet? Does more expensive necessarily mean better? Or is old school the way to go?
The World of Corkscrews
Though they are named corkscrews, what you should be looking for is a device with a “worm” versus a “screw”. The worm actually threads itself into the cork giving you more leverage to actually pull it out of the bottle whereas the screw will simply burrow down the middle of the cork. If the cork is too dry or tight, the screw will simple gouge out the center of the cork leaving you with a crumbly mess.
The most common model is the waiter’s model which consists of a pocket sized device with pivoting worm and lever. Some models also come with a folding curved blade to cut through the plastic or lead capsule covering the top of the wine bottle. Prices can run from less than $10 for plastic bodied devices all the up to $200 for hand crafted Laguiole openers from France.
There are also waiter’s models that are equipped with dual levers that make it easier to extract the cork – like using a two step ratchet for leverage.
To use these devices, first use the curved blade (if it’s equipped with a blade, if not use any small knife blade) and hold against the lower lip of the wine bottle and cut through the capsule in a circular motion. If done properly, you should be removing about the top ½ inch of the capsule. If there’s any crud on top of the cork including mold, wipe it off before removing the cork. Thread the worm down the center of the cork until you reach the last circle of the worm. Swing the lever to rest on the top of the lip of the bottle. Now slowly raise the body of the opener until the cork starts to move. Once the cork is loosened, you can keep going until it is fully extracted. Be careful if you’re uncorking a red wine that’s been cellared as the wine residue on the bottom of the cork will splash any guest near you. Once the cork is almost out of the bottle, I usually cover the cork with towel and manually pull it out to prevent any wine spray.
If you notice that the cork seems to be breaking as you’re levering it out, stop and unthread the worm. At this point, you can either reposition the worm to a solid part of the cork and try again or hold on until you read the end of this article.
There are also larger worm based models that simplify cork removal that don’t take as much coordination or strength. These were first made by Screwpull which revolutionized cork extraction in 1979. Back then, your two options were either to use the archaic cork screw device with the two arms that rose as you bored through the cork. As you folded those two arms downward, either the cork was extracted or you simply bore a ¼ hole right through the cork.
Screwpull introduced the Teflon coated worm that made it glide through most corks and its simple design caused the cork to rise out of bottle with simple twisting. No fighting, lifting, struggling or cursing necessary. They followed this up with the Lever model that simply has a user clamp around the top of the wine bottle and pulling a lever forward to thread the cork and pull back to extract the cork. Simple. Now days there are also table models that thread and extract the cork in one motion. Even simpler.
The basic Screwpull models start at about $20 with the Lever models starting at about $40. Those one-pull table models will set you back about $75 and they’re not meant to be stored in a drawer, they need to be clamped onto a table, counter or stand.
No Worm or Screw
Nicknamed the Ah-So cork extractor supposedly from the German “ach so” or “Ah, I see”, this device is a double bladed cork extractor that hopefully you’ll never have to use. It consists of an oval shaped circular handle and two flaring blades – one a little longer than the other with a cover for the blades when not in use. The main use for the Ah-So extractor is for corks that either have broken or are about to break with normal corkscrews or for those corks in such decrepit condition that you know will break with a standard corkscrew.
To use the Ah-So puller, remove the cover exposing the dual blades. I usually remove the whole capsule from the top of the bottle so I can see where the blades are going. The blades should be sliding between the cork and the bottle – they shouldn’t be going into the cork. Place the longer blade between to cork and bottle and slide it about ½ inch down the neck. Place the other blade on the opposite side between the cork and bottle and slide it down about ½ inch. Now alternately slide each blade down until the handle rest on the lip of the wine bottle. Slowly pull out the cork using a twisting motion.
What about Bubbly?
With roughly 6 atmospheres of pressure and anywhere from 70 to 90 pounds per square inch or p.s.i. in every bottle, uncorking a bottle of bubbly can be a little unnerving for the uninitiated.
First of all, make sure the bottle is properly chilled. Increasing the temperature makes the dissolved carbon dioxide more likely exit the solution hence more frothing and foaming. Next, remove the foil covering the cork. Most sparkling wines have a little pull tab to easily remove the foil. Now for the fun part. Place your thumb over the top of the cork while untwisting the looped wire securing that metal cage holding the cork in place. Once this wire is loosened, NEVER face the bottle to any of your guests because that cork can take flight at any time. I usually cover the cork with a bar towel – to prevent overspray and also to get a better grip on the cork. While hold the cork and keeping the bottle at roughly a 45 degree angle, slowly twist the bottle, NOT THE CORK. As you feel the cork being pushed out by the pressure, slowly allow the released carbon dioxide to exit the bottle. If you’ve performed it perfectly there should be no loud “pop” as the cork exits the bottle (especially if you’re sitting for the Certified Sommelier exam).
There are sparkling wine specific devices to facilitate gripping the cork but I never use these. Fumbling with another device simply allows more time for the unwired cork to fly out on its own. There is one device that I do occasionally use, the Descorjet. I first saw the device employed at the Domaine Chandon tasting room. You place the Descorjet over the cork after removing the foil and wiring then squeeze the handle. It does remove the cork with a noticeable “pop” but its still so COOOOL!
If you’re into major fanfare and have a streak of daring in you, you can always saber or sabrage a bottle of bubbly open. This involves sharply striking the lower lip of a chilled bottle of sparkling wine that has its foil and protective wiring removed. That sudden strike cleanly fractures the top of the bottle (with cork still intact in the glass) so that cork and glass flies off into the air. This does take a lot of nerve since you’ll be walking around with a bottle of pressurized wine without its protective wiring and you’re basically breaking the bottle in a semi-controlled manner of said pressurized bottle hoping it doesn’t totally shatter in your hand. Whenever I employ this technique, I make sure it’s a young bottle of sparkling wine (young glass fractures cleaner than old glass), the bottle is chilled properly and that the bottle has been minimally disturbed (hasn’t been shaken or wasn’t rolling around in the car trunk after purchase) to minimize sabrage fiascos.
Screw Tops
Aren’t screw tops found only in skid row quality wines? Actually, Stelvin closures (the politically correct nomenclature) are being used in many high end wines. They do resemble the screw tops of old (I still can’t detect any difference myself) but the increased incidence of “corked” wines with natural cork contaminated with TCA or trichloroanisole which gives wines a musty, wet old rag smell necessitated the proliferation of Stelvin closures. It has been estimated that detectable “corked” wines occur in up to 10% of cork sealed wine bottles or more than 1 bottle per case and that Stelvin closures drop this to almost nil. In any case, you will see Stelvin closures in many white wines and with increasing regularity in red wines also.You can open these bottles in the same manner as Thunderbird or Boone’s Farm – just grab and twist. However, if you’re trying to impress your dining companions with your recent acquisition of Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon, instead of simply grabbing the cap and twisting, hold the bottom section connected to the cap and twist the bottom of the bottle. Once the seal is broken, you can then gracefully untwist the cap itself to liberate your wine. Will your wine taste better? Probably not but it might save the fleshy part of your thumb from being sliced by the sharp edge below the cap. And your dining companions will be spared recollections of early trysts with Boone’s Farm.
The World of Corkscrews
Though they are named corkscrews, what you should be looking for is a device with a “worm” versus a “screw”. The worm actually threads itself into the cork giving you more leverage to actually pull it out of the bottle whereas the screw will simply burrow down the middle of the cork. If the cork is too dry or tight, the screw will simple gouge out the center of the cork leaving you with a crumbly mess.
The most common model is the waiter’s model which consists of a pocket sized device with pivoting worm and lever. Some models also come with a folding curved blade to cut through the plastic or lead capsule covering the top of the wine bottle. Prices can run from less than $10 for plastic bodied devices all the up to $200 for hand crafted Laguiole openers from France.
There are also waiter’s models that are equipped with dual levers that make it easier to extract the cork – like using a two step ratchet for leverage.
To use these devices, first use the curved blade (if it’s equipped with a blade, if not use any small knife blade) and hold against the lower lip of the wine bottle and cut through the capsule in a circular motion. If done properly, you should be removing about the top ½ inch of the capsule. If there’s any crud on top of the cork including mold, wipe it off before removing the cork. Thread the worm down the center of the cork until you reach the last circle of the worm. Swing the lever to rest on the top of the lip of the bottle. Now slowly raise the body of the opener until the cork starts to move. Once the cork is loosened, you can keep going until it is fully extracted. Be careful if you’re uncorking a red wine that’s been cellared as the wine residue on the bottom of the cork will splash any guest near you. Once the cork is almost out of the bottle, I usually cover the cork with towel and manually pull it out to prevent any wine spray.
If you notice that the cork seems to be breaking as you’re levering it out, stop and unthread the worm. At this point, you can either reposition the worm to a solid part of the cork and try again or hold on until you read the end of this article.
There are also larger worm based models that simplify cork removal that don’t take as much coordination or strength. These were first made by Screwpull which revolutionized cork extraction in 1979. Back then, your two options were either to use the archaic cork screw device with the two arms that rose as you bored through the cork. As you folded those two arms downward, either the cork was extracted or you simply bore a ¼ hole right through the cork.
Screwpull introduced the Teflon coated worm that made it glide through most corks and its simple design caused the cork to rise out of bottle with simple twisting. No fighting, lifting, struggling or cursing necessary. They followed this up with the Lever model that simply has a user clamp around the top of the wine bottle and pulling a lever forward to thread the cork and pull back to extract the cork. Simple. Now days there are also table models that thread and extract the cork in one motion. Even simpler.
The basic Screwpull models start at about $20 with the Lever models starting at about $40. Those one-pull table models will set you back about $75 and they’re not meant to be stored in a drawer, they need to be clamped onto a table, counter or stand.
No Worm or Screw
Nicknamed the Ah-So cork extractor supposedly from the German “ach so” or “Ah, I see”, this device is a double bladed cork extractor that hopefully you’ll never have to use. It consists of an oval shaped circular handle and two flaring blades – one a little longer than the other with a cover for the blades when not in use. The main use for the Ah-So extractor is for corks that either have broken or are about to break with normal corkscrews or for those corks in such decrepit condition that you know will break with a standard corkscrew.
To use the Ah-So puller, remove the cover exposing the dual blades. I usually remove the whole capsule from the top of the bottle so I can see where the blades are going. The blades should be sliding between the cork and the bottle – they shouldn’t be going into the cork. Place the longer blade between to cork and bottle and slide it about ½ inch down the neck. Place the other blade on the opposite side between the cork and bottle and slide it down about ½ inch. Now alternately slide each blade down until the handle rest on the lip of the wine bottle. Slowly pull out the cork using a twisting motion.
What about Bubbly?
With roughly 6 atmospheres of pressure and anywhere from 70 to 90 pounds per square inch or p.s.i. in every bottle, uncorking a bottle of bubbly can be a little unnerving for the uninitiated.
First of all, make sure the bottle is properly chilled. Increasing the temperature makes the dissolved carbon dioxide more likely exit the solution hence more frothing and foaming. Next, remove the foil covering the cork. Most sparkling wines have a little pull tab to easily remove the foil. Now for the fun part. Place your thumb over the top of the cork while untwisting the looped wire securing that metal cage holding the cork in place. Once this wire is loosened, NEVER face the bottle to any of your guests because that cork can take flight at any time. I usually cover the cork with a bar towel – to prevent overspray and also to get a better grip on the cork. While hold the cork and keeping the bottle at roughly a 45 degree angle, slowly twist the bottle, NOT THE CORK. As you feel the cork being pushed out by the pressure, slowly allow the released carbon dioxide to exit the bottle. If you’ve performed it perfectly there should be no loud “pop” as the cork exits the bottle (especially if you’re sitting for the Certified Sommelier exam).
There are sparkling wine specific devices to facilitate gripping the cork but I never use these. Fumbling with another device simply allows more time for the unwired cork to fly out on its own. There is one device that I do occasionally use, the Descorjet. I first saw the device employed at the Domaine Chandon tasting room. You place the Descorjet over the cork after removing the foil and wiring then squeeze the handle. It does remove the cork with a noticeable “pop” but its still so COOOOL!
If you’re into major fanfare and have a streak of daring in you, you can always saber or sabrage a bottle of bubbly open. This involves sharply striking the lower lip of a chilled bottle of sparkling wine that has its foil and protective wiring removed. That sudden strike cleanly fractures the top of the bottle (with cork still intact in the glass) so that cork and glass flies off into the air. This does take a lot of nerve since you’ll be walking around with a bottle of pressurized wine without its protective wiring and you’re basically breaking the bottle in a semi-controlled manner of said pressurized bottle hoping it doesn’t totally shatter in your hand. Whenever I employ this technique, I make sure it’s a young bottle of sparkling wine (young glass fractures cleaner than old glass), the bottle is chilled properly and that the bottle has been minimally disturbed (hasn’t been shaken or wasn’t rolling around in the car trunk after purchase) to minimize sabrage fiascos.
Screw Tops
Aren’t screw tops found only in skid row quality wines? Actually, Stelvin closures (the politically correct nomenclature) are being used in many high end wines. They do resemble the screw tops of old (I still can’t detect any difference myself) but the increased incidence of “corked” wines with natural cork contaminated with TCA or trichloroanisole which gives wines a musty, wet old rag smell necessitated the proliferation of Stelvin closures. It has been estimated that detectable “corked” wines occur in up to 10% of cork sealed wine bottles or more than 1 bottle per case and that Stelvin closures drop this to almost nil. In any case, you will see Stelvin closures in many white wines and with increasing regularity in red wines also.You can open these bottles in the same manner as Thunderbird or Boone’s Farm – just grab and twist. However, if you’re trying to impress your dining companions with your recent acquisition of Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon, instead of simply grabbing the cap and twisting, hold the bottom section connected to the cap and twist the bottom of the bottle. Once the seal is broken, you can then gracefully untwist the cap itself to liberate your wine. Will your wine taste better? Probably not but it might save the fleshy part of your thumb from being sliced by the sharp edge below the cap. And your dining companions will be spared recollections of early trysts with Boone’s Farm.
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