SOYOUWANNA LEARN HOW TO OPEN A BOTTLE OF WINE?

First, you have to deal with a metal (or sometimes plastic) wrapping around the cork. Whatever it is, you'll want to decapitate it. Using the knife, slice the metal wrapper below the protrusion at the top of the bottle's neck. This involves taking off about a half-inch band of metal. But you'll want to make sure that here is no metal left near the lip of the bottle, because if the wine touches metal when you are pouring the liquid, the combination can oxidize your precious fluid.

There are three major devices for removing the cork. The easiest, though perhaps least suave, is the "winglever." Invented for the ergonomically challenged, these bad boys will get the job done with a minimum of fuss. Simply line up the corkscrew with center of the cork and poke it in. Then holding the neck of the bottle and the barrel of the opener together, start twisting the key at the top. The levers on the side will rise as you twist the key. When they have gone as high as the can, secure the bottle on a table or, if you are seated, between your legs. Then push down on the levers and voila, watch the cork rise easily out of the bottle.

A second opening device is the "waiter's pull." This gizmo requires more skill so please practice before trying to impress your date - on your first go, you're almost guaranteed to spill the bottle or to stab someone. Again place the corkscrew into the center of the cork. Then level out the rest of the "pull" perpendicular to the screw and begin twisting it, driving the screw into the cork. After the metal screw has entered the cork to the depth of about an inch, pivot the pull so that the metal hook rests against the lip of the bottle. Use that metal hook as a pivot, and lever the cork out of the bottle.

The final device is known as the "dishonest butler" because it can remove a cork from a bottle without damaging the cork. Presumably naughty British valets would steal a tipple from their master's cellar and replace the cork with the boss none the wiser. Insert the longer blade of this device into the gap between the cork and the lip of the bottle. Then insert the shorter blade in the other side. Wiggle the device from side to side, forcing it deeper into the neck of the bottle. When it has descended about an inch or so, pull the cork out with a slow twist of your wrist. Again, no one will be very successful at this maneuver the first time around.

SoYouWanna know more? Check out our full-length article SYW fake being a wine expert?