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Posts Tagged ‘wine’

Fine wines are an almost imperceptible art, a sensation that many manage to bottle, but few effectively uncork. So many of us have that exceptional bottle of wine at home from an unforgettable vacation, a departed significant one, a visit to a winery, that we are so eager to open on a special occasion, on the right moment. The bottle ages for ages and we keep on waiting and waiting. Finally, the moment comes, and we feel so ready for it. But then, in a momentary lapse of reason, or rather of an “I’m not sure how to do it” mode, the magic is lost. Instead of uncorking properly, the cork breaks into pieces and spreads into our valuable wine.

Disaster.

Whether you are a social wine drinker that has a bottle at home now and then or a wine aficionado with a massive cellar collection, this can happen to anyone.

Here’s your deal:

Uncorking with a regular corkscrew may not be the best of ideas because your bottle is old and the cork will probably break easily.

Buy a waiter’s corkscrew that is relatively inexpensive, $4 to $7, and definitely foolproof. Think: what restaurant would allow its waiters to look foolish if they can’t uncork properly a bottle of wine? A waiter’s corkscrew has a tiny flip-out blade on one end that can be used for removing the foil capsule. On the other end, there is a lever that can be used as a bracket that sits on the edge of the bottle to give you leverage when uncorking. Simple; cheap; infallible. Just about every wine store would have one.  Read more...