How to Open a Bottle of Wine

Opening a Bottle of Wine Video

What You Need

Before you learn how to open a bottle of wine you’ll need one essential tool, a simple waiter’s friend corkscrew. They are widely available at most grocery stores and cost around $8-15. Don’t get fancy, in nearly all cases the waiter’s friend corkscrew will outperform other alternatives. Make sure it has a serrated blade, this will make cutting the foil much easier. Ready to start opening that bottle?

Classic Double Hinged Corkscrew

Wine Folly now offers a double-hinge corkscrew constructed from fine wood and stainless steel, making it an exceptional choice for opening your next bottle of wine. The non-stick worm reduces friction when uncorking, thereby improving its efficacy.
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How to Open a Bottle of Wine

Hold the bottle of wine stationary.
Cut across the front, back, and top of the foil. Keep your fingers clear of the blade and the foil.
Set the screw just off center and insert, rotating straight into the cork.
Continue to screw into the cork until only one curl remains.
Lever on the first step, then the second, finally easing the cork out with your hand.

READY!Ready to learn how to open champagne?

View/Hide Video Transcript

How to Open a Bottle of Wine Transcript

I’m going to show you my favorite way to open a bottle of wine. I like to use a corkscrew called a waiter’s friend. This one is a pull tap style opener. It’s easier because it has a two step lever, a serrated foil cutter, and a thin screw or spiral. The whole corkscrew is small and I like it because it costs only about $6.

I’m going to use this waiter’s friend to open a bottle of wine. First, cut the foil once around the front and once around the back. I like to cut across the top to make it easier to remove. *bam*

Insert the screw just off center. And rotate it to be parallel, going straight into the cork. You’ll rotate the waiter’s friend six and a half turns. The screw will have just one curl left if you’ve done it right. Start levering on the first step and then move up to the second. You can ease the rest of the cork out with your hand. As you can see there is one curl left on the screw with this particular type of waiter’s friend. It’s not too long so it hasn’t pierced the cork. That’s good. *throws cork* *hot sloppy wine pour* *daemon*

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By Justin Hammack
When I'm not drinking wine, I'm also.. a rails developer, vegetarian foodie, coffee addict, casual gamer, lover of cult movies, driver of insane turbo-2.0L ... in Seattle.