How to Open a Bottle of Wine

• September 6, 2023
• Wine

This is how the pros do it.

By Erin Henderson

The corkscrew industry, or maybe the sommelier industry, or perhaps both, have done a great job of freaking people out about opening a bottle of wine (don’t even get me started on popping the cork on a bottle of bubbly.)

The intimidation runs so deep that wine lovers either corner themselves into screwcap-only wines (nothing wrong with that, but it’s limiting if this is your only lane), or they resort to using the “easier” corkscrew their parents had – that two-handled, winged thing.

I particularly bristle at the later. Winged corkscrews are bulky and awkward, and much, much more difficult to use than the one-handled, waiter’s corkscrew.

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In fact, after teaching dozens – nay, hundreds – of wine students over the years how to use a waiter’s corkscrew, I can honestly report that most managed to flawlessly uncork a bottle on the first go.

Wine, in general, can be a murky subject, which is why I have a job. We here at The Wine Sisters are all about clearing up the confusion and getting straight to the point – and the drink.

So, without further ado, here’s how you uncork your wine in seven easy steps.

1. Cut the foil under the bottom of the lip. Using the blade on your corkscrew, firmly slice through the foil. You may have to circle the bottle more than once to get a clean cut, but that’s fine.
2. Slice a horizonal cut up through the top potion of the foil (think of forming a "T" with the bottom cut). Gently use your blade to get under the foil and remove the upper portion of the foil that you just cut. 
3. If you’ve made a mess and the lines aren’t even, remove the whole neck foil. It's much cleaner, and safer (foil cuts hurt like the dickens!), than having jagged edges of foil on the bottle.
4. Place the tip of the curlicue, called the worm, in the centre of the cork, firmly press down, and screw the coil into the cork until you have one coil left.  
5. Using the hinge and lever portion of your corkscrew, place the top ledge on the lip of the bottle, and pull straight up (not to the side) to loosen the cork until it comes out of the bottle about a centimetre.
6. Now, place the bottom ledge on the bottle lip and pull the remaining cork out of the neck of the bottle.
7. Now pour your newly freed wine and enjoy the spoils of your efforts.