Opening a bottle (still and sparkling)
The right corkscrew, a calm hand and a few small habits get any bottle open cleanly, from a crumbling old Barolo cork to a cold bottle of Champagne.
Why it works
A natural cork is bark from the cork oak, a honeycomb of tiny air-filled cells. Squeezed into the neck, it pushes back against the glass, and that grip is what keeps the wine in for years. It is also what you are fighting when you open the bottle. Pull straight up with arm strength and the friction resists you; use a lever and the same job takes a fraction of the effort.
That is why the two-step waiter's friend is the tool most sommeliers carry. The worm, the spiral, bites into the cork. The hinged arm rests on the lip of the bottle and turns your pull into leverage. The first step lifts the cork halfway, the second takes it almost all the way, and the last few millimetres come out by hand so the cork never pops. A good worm is an open spiral with a sharp tip, like a pig's tail. It grips the cork without tearing a channel through it.
Old corks are a different problem. After twenty or thirty years the cork dries, softens and may stick to the glass, so a worm can tear through it or push it down. The Ah-So, two thin prongs that slide down between cork and glass, grips the cork from the outside and lifts it whole.
Sparkling wine is under pressure. Champagne holds about 5 to 6 atmospheres, roughly twice a car tyre, and the cork is the only thing keeping that gas in. Opening it well is about control: cold wine holds its gas better, a still bottle has calmer gas, and a hand on the cork at all times means it leaves when you decide, quietly.
What you need
- Waiter's friend: A two-step lever corkscrew with a small foil knife; the one tool to own if you only own one.
- Clean cloth or napkin: For wiping the lip, holding a sparkling cork, and catching drips.
- Ah-So (two-prong puller): Lifts old, fragile corks from the outside without piercing them.
- Coffee filter or fine tea strainer: Catches crumbs of cork if a cork breaks up.
- Decanter or clean jug: Somewhere to strain an old wine or a bottle with cork in it.
- Sparkling wine stopper: A hinged clamp stopper that keeps leftover bubbles for a day or two.
Step by step
Cut the foil below the lip
Run the little knife round the neck just under the raised lip, the second ring of glass below the top. Turn the bottle, not the knife, then make one short vertical cut and peel the top away. Cutting below the lip means the wine never runs over the foil as you pour, which can taste metallic and drips.
Wipe the top
Wipe the top of the cork and the lip with a cloth. Old bottles often have a little mould or dried wine under the foil. It is harmless and does not mean the wine is bad, but you do not want it going in the glass.
Centre the worm and screw in
Set the point slightly off-centre and tilt it so the spiral, not the point, ends up running down the middle of the cork. Straighten up and turn the corkscrew, not the bottle, keeping it vertical. Stop when one turn of the spiral is still showing above the cork. That last turn keeps the tip from punching out of the bottom of the cork and dropping crumbs into the wine.
Tip: If the worm goes in crooked, back it out and start again. A crooked worm tears the cork on the way up.
Lever with the first step
Fold the arm down and hook the first notch on the lip of the bottle. Hold the notch in place with your thumb and lift the handle slowly. The cork rises about halfway.
Switch to the second step
Move to the second notch and lift again. Lift straight up in line with the neck rather than pulling sideways, which can bend the cork and snap it.
Ease out the last bit by hand
When only a centimetre is left, hold the cork in your fingers and wiggle it out gently. It should leave with a soft sigh. Unscrew the cork from the worm.
Check the cork, briefly
Look at it: wine should have stained only the bottom few millimetres, and the cork should be springy. A cork soaked through its length or shrunken can mean the wine has had air. Smell the bottom only to catch an obvious musty, wet-cardboard note, a sign of cork taint. Then smell the wine itself, which is what really tells you.
Screwcaps: twist the base
Hold the long sleeve of the cap in one hand and the bottle in the other. Twist the bottle, or the lower sleeve, until the perforation cracks, then unscrew the top.
Tip: Screwcaps are not a sign of cheap wine. Many fine whites, and plenty of reds, use them because they seal consistently and cannot be corked.
Synthetic corks
Open them exactly like natural corks. They grip harder, so a waiter's friend helps, and they can be tight to remove from the worm. They do not crumble, but they are not designed for long ageing, so drink those wines young.
Pour from the side
Hold the bottle by the body with the label facing your guest, and pour from their right. Fill a still wine glass about a third full, which leaves room to swirl and smell. As you finish, lift the neck and give the bottle a quarter turn so the last drop stays on the rim of the bottle, not the tablecloth.
Tip: Pour yourself a small taste first. If the wine is corked, you will find out before anyone else does.
Corkscrews compared
| Tool | Pros | Cons | Best for |
|---|
| Waiter's friend (two-step) | Small, cheap, controlled, has a foil knife | Needs a little practice | Almost every bottle |
| Winged corkscrew | Easy, no technique needed | Thick worm tears soft corks; pulls the cork off-centre | Occasional use, young wines |
| Lever or rabbit | Very fast, almost no effort | Bulky, expensive, rough on old corks | Opening many bottles at a party |
| Ah-So (two-prong) | Lifts fragile corks whole without piercing | Takes practice; can push a loose cork in | Old and crumbly corks |
| Coravin | Pours a glass through the cork with a needle and argon, bottle keeps for weeks or longer | Expensive, uses gas capsules; screwcaps and sparkling wine need special models or caps | Tasting a little of a special bottle |
| Screwcap | No tool needed | None for the cook | Twist the base and pour |
Sparkling wine pressure and serving temperatures
| Wine | Pressure in the bottle | Serve at |
|---|
| Champagne, Cava, Franciacorta, Alta Langa | 5–6 atmospheres | 6–8 °C (vintage and older wines 8–10 °C) |
| Crémant | About 4–5 atmospheres | 6–8 °C |
| Prosecco spumante | About 3.5–5 atmospheres | 6–8 °C |
| Pétillant naturel | About 2–3 atmospheres | 7–9 °C |
| Prosecco frizzante, Lambrusco | 1–2.5 atmospheres | 8–10 °C (Lambrusco 10–12 °C) |
| Moscato d'Asti | About 1.5–2.5 atmospheres | 5–7 °C |
| Car tyre, for comparison | About 2–2.5 atmospheres | – |
Troubleshooting
The cork broke in half
Usually the worm went in off-centre or not deep enough, or you pulled sideways. Screw the worm back into the remaining piece at an angle, gently, so it bites into the side with most cork, and lever it out slowly. If it is very soft, use an Ah-So on what is left.
I pushed the cork into the bottle
The wine is fine. Pour it slowly while holding the cork back with a chopstick or skewer, or decant it.
There are bits of cork in the wine
Cork crumbs are tasteless and harmless, just unpleasant in the mouth. Pour the wine through a coffee filter or a fine tea strainer into a decanter.
The sparkling wine gushed out
The bottle was too warm, had been shaken, or the cork came out too fast. Chill it properly, let a bottle that has travelled rest for a few hours, and twist the bottle slowly so the gas escapes gradually. If it starts to foam, keep the bottle at 45° and have a glass ready at the neck.
The sparkling cork won't budge
Older or very cold bottles can stick. Keep your hand over the cork and cage, wrap it in a cloth for grip, and twist the bottle firmly while pulling down on it. If that fails, run the neck under warm water for a few seconds to raise the pressure slightly, then try again, still holding the cork.
The wine smells of wet cardboard or a damp cellar
That is cork taint, caused by a compound called TCA. It is not harmful but it flattens the fruit and does not go away with air. Put the cork back in and return the bottle to the shop; most good merchants will replace it.
Corks, glass and blades
A sparkling wine cork can fly hard enough to injure an eye, and eye clinics see these injuries every New Year. Treat every sparkling bottle as loaded until the cork is out.
- Never point a sparkling bottle at anyone, including yourself, and keep a hand over the cork from the moment you loosen the cage until the cork is out.
- Do not shake sparkling wine or open a warm bottle; warmth and agitation raise the force behind the cork.
- Sabrage breaks the glass at the neck. Only try it with a well-chilled bottle, proper technique, everyone behind you and nothing breakable in front, and never with Prosecco frizzante, cheap or thin bottles.
- The foil knife on a waiter's friend is sharp. Cut away from your thumb and fold it closed before you lever.
- Pour modest glasses, drink water alongside, and keep sparkling wine away from anyone driving or pregnant.
