How to Open a Wine Bottle

On special occasions when friends and relatives visit your home, you may wish to offer them a glass of fine wine. This is an excellent way to show hospitality and good taste. Before serving wine it will be beneficial to know some basic rules about how to do it correctly. You should purchase the bottle of wine within one day of serving it. It should be kept in a dark, cool place and should not be refrigerated too long. Different types of wine are best at certain temperatures. White wines are better after they are cooled. It is very important to know how to properly open a bottle.

The first step is to use a serrated knife to cut all around the top of the bottle, right under the lip. You should turn the bottle as you cut and then remove the foil. Put the corkscrew right in the middle of the cork and turn it clockwise. Do not twist it completely into the cork. Leave a little bit of the spiral showing. If you do not screw the spiral far enough into the cork, the cork could be torn. The next step is to use firm pressure to slowly pull the cork up until it is about two-thirds out of the wine bottle. Then twist the cork slowly while pulling upward.

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