You’ve opened many bottles of wine, to be sure. You’ve probably even perfected a technique to do so as quickly as possible. These instructions won’t help you with that.
This is a guide to help you open a bottle of wine the way it should be done, the way the sommelier at your favorite nice restaurant should do it.
You will need:
- A bottle of wine
- A liteau (basically a tea towel)
- A waiter’s key
A note on your tools:
You must use a waiter’s key. None of those rabbit ear, or electronic, or whateverthefuck doodads. No foil cutter either, because that is a thing for cheaters. You want a little folding corkscrew with a serrated blade and fold-out levers. If you can, get one that has two levels, this will make your life much, much easier.
The liteau doesn’t have to be anything special. I like to use dark colours because it hides red wine drips better, but it’s no big deal. In the pictures below I just used one of my cotton dinner napkins.
With the label of the bottle facing the host (the person who ordered the bottle), cradle the bottle in both hands and present the wine.
Place the bottle on the table, ensuring that the label faces toward the host.
Using the small knife in the waiter’s key, cut the foil along the bottom of the bottle’s lip. Try to get as far around as possible in one cut, then turn your hand and cut the other way. Do not turn the bottle. You want a clean cut without any jagged edges. This will be very awkward at first, but practice makes perfect. Remove the foil and stash it in your pocket.
Wipe the top of the bottle with your liteau.
Keeping the bottle on the table, and the label facing the host, screw the corkscrew into the cork. Take your time. The tip of the screw should push in just a little off-centre, so that when it screws in the spirals will be in the middle of the cork. This is important because it makes pulling the cork out much easier, and reduces the chance of the cork breaking.
Leave about a spiral and a half.
Still keeping the bottle on the table, use the little lever on the key to start removing the cork. Leave about a half inch of cork in the bottle, because you should always finish removing the cork with your thumb and index finger. Carefully wipe the top of the bottle again. You’re trying to clear away any cork crumbs, not push them in the bottle.
Take the cork off the key, and present to the host, wet side up if you can. (On it’s side is fine if it won’t stand up). You don’t have to wait for the host to actually do anything with the cork, this part is just a ritual.
You’re almost there! Now it’s time to pour!
Pick up the bottle in such a way so that the label faces the person you’re serving. Depending on the table set-up, you may have to sneakily turn the bottle in your hand as you go.
Pour a small amount into the glass of the host for them to taste. Probably about an ounce is good. Give the bottle a little twist just as you finish the pour, to avoid dripping. As you bring the bottle back toward yourself, sneak a quick wipe with your liteau.
Wait while the host evaluates. If they approve, pour for the rest of the table, finishing with the host. Keep doing the little twist and wipe as you go. (There are a number of ways to decide serving order; we were taught to start with the eldest woman, then the rest of the women, then the oldest man, the rest of the men, and finally the host. Your mileage may vary.)
Once everyone has a glass, leave the bottle behind, even if it is empty. If the bottle is sweating, or just plain if you want to, fold your liteau around the neck, kind of like a little ascot.
And you’re done! Salud!
