Wine Basics

Let’s talk about how to open them. Now this might all sound a bit obvious and like trying to teach your gran to suck eggs, but you would be surprised how often you see someone struggling to get inside a bottle of wine or fizz or making an absolute meal of it.

Screw Caps

If it’s a wine under screw cap, it’s pretty self-explanatory. A helpful tip for those stubborn caps is rather than grip the top with one hand and the bottle in the other and twist, grip the collar piece that the top is attached to and then twist the bottle. You’ll find it snaps the cap easier.

Corks – Still wines

Corkscrews come in all shapes, sizes and designs but the majority of ‘waiter’s friends’ look like this (A). Most have a blade at one end with a lever opposite and a folding corkscrew thread in the centre.

Firstly, use the blade carefully to remove the foil cap. You can either go above the flanged collar on the neck of the bottle or below (B). Next pull out the corkscrew thread and pierce the centre of the cork with the point, and then carefully twist clockwise into the cork keeping the thread as vertical to the cork and as centred as possible. You need to wind the thread down at least as far as halfway up the final coil of the thread (C). Any shorter and you risk shearing the cork, leaving part of it in the neck…nightmare!

Next angle the lever so that you can hinge it over the top of the bottle and hold the lever against the neck firmly with one hand to keep it steady while you start to prise the cork out as far as you can with the other. If it’s a single-action corkscrew, you’ll need to grip the top of the corkscrew firmly, either side of the thread, and pull the last of the cork out carefully. If the cork’s really hard to pull, it sometimes helps to slowly twist the corkscrew clockwise as you pull at the same time. If it’s a double-action corkscrew, you can more or less prise the cork right out on the second pivot point (D).

Another useful tip – it’s always worth sniffing the underside of the cork to check for cork taint (mustiness or wet cardboard smell) as this indicates that the wine may well be faulty.

Corks – Sparkling wines

We’re mainly talking about the full sparkling wines here like Champagne, Spumante Prosecco, Cava, etc. These contain the most pressure inside the bottle, between 5-6 atmospheres, which is roughly 3 times the pressure in a car tyre! There are several things that will increase that pressure. Serving it too warm and shaking it (yeah obvious but even placing it down on the table heavy-handed is enough to agitate it).

First step is to remove the foil around the neck and top (as shown) which reveals the wire cage underneath. Before you untwist the wire to release the cage, put your other thumb over the top and hold down firmly. Corks have been known to start releasing prematurely, especially if it’s an older bottle. Untwist the metal to release the cage over the cork and take off carefully. As soon as you remove the cage put your other thumb over the cork again and then curl your fingers around the cork and neck of the bottle (as shown). Grip tightly and then slowly twist the base of the bottle while keeping a grip on the neck and cork in the other hand and you’ll feel the pressure under the cork as soon as it starts to release. Allow the cork to slowly ease itself out as you twist the base of the bottle so that it gives a faint hiss on release. Again, sniff the underside of the cork checking for any mustiness. Take great care when opening fizz, keep a good grip of the cork when opening and don’t point the cork at anyone as it can travel up to 50 mph if let loose!

In an ideal world, wines should be kept in a cellar but we don’t live in an ideal world so here are some tips on how and where to store your bottles if this isn’t an option.

The optimum temperature range is between 12-15°C if you’re storing bottles for long periods of time but if you’re turning them over quicker, you can get away with a few degrees warmer. The most important thing is to avoid wide fluctuations as the wine will age much quicker.

Also, try to avoid any direct sunlight as UV radiation can damage the wine, especially sparkling wines, so keeping the bottles somewhere dark is ideal. Wines also don’t like heavy vibrations so try and keep them away from large appliances. It’s also imperative that you avoid any strong smells around the bottles like chemicals, paints, etc.

Wines under cork, which includes fizz, keep best when laying horizontally or at a reclined angle so that the cork is in contact with the wine and air bubble. This is to prevent the cork from drying out over time, which would cause it to shrink and potentially allow air into the wine causing spoilage. For wines under screw cap, it doesn’t matter whether they’re standing up or lying down.

Any wines under cork, still or sparkling, that will be turned over within a month or two can be stored upright without any issues so don’t panic if you don’t have a rack large enough to take everything.

It’s common to find wines being served at the wrong temperatures; whites and rosés too cold and reds too warm. As a general rule, sparkling and white dessert wines should be served between 5-7°C (straight from the fridge), whites and rosés should be served between 8-12°C and orange, amber and reds between 12-18°C.

As a general rule, crisper lighter whites like Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio and dry and pale rosés should be served at the cooler end of the scale while weightier richer whites like Chardonnay and Viognier and deeper-coloured rosés should be served at the warmer end. The warmer end is somewhere between fridge and ambient room temperature.

The same rule applies to orange, amber and red wines. Pale orange wines and lighter reds like Pinot Noir and Gamay should be at the cooler end and deeper orange, amber and heftier reds like Shiraz and Cabernet should be at the warmer end with medium-bodied reds served somewhere in between.

It takes a little bit of trial and error but getting the serving temperature right really does make a huge difference in your enjoyment of that wine.