The process of opening a bottle of wine is underrated. The sound set the mood, the effort emphasizes the anticipation and then the pour of wine is instant gratification for all your efforts.
Ken Mageau once wrote that “I don’t know how I missed this part of wine enjoyment, but I did: How do you get the wine out of the bottle and into the glass?”
In ancient Greece they used large casks sealed with corks to hold their wine, and the early Romans used cork covered with pitch to get an airtight seal. In the 17th century, people used glass bottles with glass stoppers — like a decanter — but that method proved too expensive. Bottlers eventually went back to corks, but they were only pushed partway in because no one had yet invented the corkscrew.
Most bottles today have a foil covering around the neck, which can be removed with a small, sharp knife or a nifty little gizmo called a foil cutter. Use either to cut the foil so you can see the top of the cork. After wiping the rim of the bottle to remove any debris, it’s time to remove the cork.
There are many kinds of bottle openers. There is the old faithful “Hands-up” bottle opener. This opener s the one which you turn and turn and eventually the “arms” come up and you open the bottle by pressing down on the arms.
Then there is super fancy opener with compressed air etc. This is not my favourite because I believe that some of the fun is taken out of opening a bottle by using the fancy stuff.
My favourite is the go-to guy- in opener. The Waiters friends. It comes with a small, fold-out knife to cut the foil and is available in one- or two-step models. With practice, the waiter’s friend is the fastest corkscrew available.
Before too long, there are sure to be more and more screw-tops being produced, and corks and inventive openers will be a thing of the past. I sure hope not, though. There’s just something wonderfully romantic about opening that dark bottle and pouring that heavenly nectar.
Source: thebeachsideresident.com
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