Unfiltered, Unfined

Two-stage waiter's corkscrew from Vino 2010

From: Verna

 

Subject: The Best Corkscrew

Yesterday, as I was trying to uncork a bottle with a very skimpy corkscrew, the cork broke in half widthwise and I couldn’t get the second half out. I finally tried pushing it down into the bottle and eventually succeeded, but back-pressure caused sprinkles of wine to shower down on me, the counter, the cabinets, everything. I was using the wine for cooking, so I strained out the cork. What a mess!

Would you kindly recommend a corkscrew that a woman - a not very strong woman - could use with ease?

Hi Verna:

Corkscrews are a tricky subject, so I’m glad you asked this question. It gives me an excuse to talk about this very misunderstood bar appliance.

Cork itself is impermeable to water and quite buoyant, composed of tissue harvested primarily from Quercus suber (cork oak). This subspecies is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa, where a lot of the world’s wine production is centered. Because of cork’s physical properties, I’m sure vintners began experimenting with cork closures quite early on in the development of viticulture. Methods of removing those corks thus became quite important to the wine-drinking public. Although many versions of corkscrew have been tried, there are now three basic styles in general use: two-stage waiter, lever action and everything else.

I think the waiter’s version is best for day-to-day wine operations (see the picture at the top of this column). It shouldn’t cost more than $8 for a basic unit. To operate the two-stage, screw the worm (the sharp portion) into the cork firmly and vertically. Balance the first joint of the metal portion of the corkscrew against the lip of the bottle, pull the cork halfway, then reset the corkscrew so that it balances on the second joint before finishing the pulling.

Notice that the jointed metal that perches on the bottle also helps lever out the cork. This is why it is very important that the corkscrew be two-stage! The jointed action allows the worm to deeply penetrate the cork while still providing sufficient leverage to perform its function.

Lots of Bottles - Perfect for Some Lever Action

The lever-action corkscrews (Screwpull, Leverpull, etc.) start at around $80 and are great if you need to pull a lot of corks. Some people feel that this sort of mechanism is also easier to use, but I’ve discovered a few issues. For one thing, more moving parts mean more to break down, and most of the lever-action corkscrews I’ve owned have given up the ghost long before their two-stage waiter counterparts. Also, though a lever-action has more to grab on to (and thus more leverage) it still takes significant strength to operate, especially if one is boring into plastic or composite corks instead of those naturally based.

The third category is a catch-all and includes Ah-So-style two-pronged pullers, devices that shoot gas into the bottle and expel the cork, and everything else. Most of these are rather gimmicky except for the Ah-So. When a cork breaks during the extraction process, I usually reach for one of these two-tined marvels because the flat prongs don’t actually have to penetrate the cork in order to work. Instead they work around the perimeter of the stopper, loosening it and allowing the puller to slowly rotate the cork out of the bottle.

The Ah-So Corkscrew

No bar set is complete without an Ah-So for such emergencies, so I guess I’m recommending you acquire both a two-stage waiter’s corkscrew and an Ah-So. Either can be a bit of a trick to use properly at first, but once the techniques are mastered you’ll be able to open just about any wine bottle that is closed with a cork.

But please remember that neither is a perfect corkscrew by any means. If the bottle doesn’t have a real lip to it then there’s nothing to secure the metal portion of the two-stage. On the other hand, if the cork is in one piece a two-stage is usually much easier to use than an Ah-So. Each also requires some level of strength to operate, but so do all other types of manually operated corkscrew. Corks aren’t supposed to be easy to remove, otherwise they wouldn’t work so well to insulate and protect wine.

Verna, good luck with your corkscrew practicum. At least you can drink the mistakes! Let me know if you want to go corkscrew shopping together. In the meantime, here are a few recommendations for you to practice on.

Try the juicy, creamy Pauly-Bergweiler Riesling Kabinett Bernkasteler-Badstube that hails from the Mosel Valley in Germany. Green apple and yellow pear match perfectly with honey and lilac on the expansive finish of this sprightly youngster. Lots of years ahead of it but delicious now.

Also seek out the clean, zesty Herve Seguin Pouilly-Fume out of the Loire Valley in France. Pineapple and lime zest vie with zippy lemon cream in a race to the end of this lovely, long white, and it’s hard to not open another bottle.

Another more-than-one-bottle type of wine is the deep, soulful Camigliano Cabernet Sant’Antimo Campo ai Mori. Cassis and black raspberry explode on the nose, and root beer, coffee, tea and birch bark play out on a velvety smooth finish.

Recently I enjoyed a bottle of creamy, decadent Switchback Ridge Merlot. Vanilla and lanolin joined orange, cherry and black licorice on the long, full finish. Big without excessive weight, it was a joy to drink.

As for dessert, grab the bright, delicious Chateau Pajzos Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos. Dry hay and caramel show at first, then luscious apricot, candied orange peel and marmalade round out the deep and viscous palate. Another fabulous wine from that vinous Mecca at the end of the earth (see Wine from the Wilds of Tokaj), and absolutely unattainable without either a proper corkscrew or a desire to break the bottle.

Recommended:

White

Pauly-Bergweiler Riesling Kabinett Bernkasteler Badstube 2007 (Mosel, Germany) $23

Herve Seguin Pouilly-Fume 2007 (Loire Valley, France) $26

Red

Camigliano Cabernet Sant’Antimo Campo ai Mori 2005 (Tuscany, Italy) $29

Switchback Ridge Merlot 2007 (Napa Valley, California) $55

Dessert

Chateau Pajzos Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 1999 (Tokaj, Hungary) $50/500ml