How to Open, Cork & Re-Cork a Wine Bottle

To open a wine bottle, cut the foil below the lip, center the corkscrew's worm on the cork, twist it straight down until nearly buried, then use the lever to draw the cork out slowly. Without a corkscrew, a long screw and pliers, or carefully pushing the cork in, both work. To keep an open bottle, re-cork it and refrigerate it — most wine holds three to five days.

How do you open a wine bottle with a corkscrew?

The simplest tool is a waiter's corkscrew. Cut the foil below the lip and remove the top, set the worm in the center of the cork, and twist it straight down until only one turn shows. Rest the lever on the rim and lift the handle steadily to draw the cork out, then ease the last of it out by hand.

1. 01Cut the foil. Use the small blade on the corkscrew to score the foil around the bottle just below the raised lip, half a turn in each direction, and lift off the top. Cutting below the lip leaves a clean edge that does not drip when you pour.
2. 02Seat the worm. Set the tip of the spiral slightly off-center on the cork, then stand it upright as you begin the first turn. Starting at a slight angle helps it bite; being vertical by the second turn keeps the spiral centered so it does not tear out the side.
3. 03Twist straight down. Turn clockwise, keeping the corkscrew vertical, until just one spiral remains visible. Going all the way through can push cork into the bottle; stopping too early leaves the worm too shallow to hold.
4. 04Set the lever and lift. Rest the first notch of the lever on the lip of the bottle, hold it there with your thumb, and raise the handle slowly in a smooth arc to draw the cork upward.
5. 05Drop to the second notch. When the cork is about halfway out, lower the handle, hook the second, deeper notch on the lip, and lift again. The two-stage leverage lets even a long, tight cork come out without bending the worm or breaking the cork.
6. 06Ease the cork free. Grip the cork and wiggle it free by hand rather than yanking. A slow finish gives a soft sigh instead of a pop and keeps the wine calm. Wipe the rim with a clean cloth before pouring.

Winged corkscrews

A winged corkscrew has a collar that sits on the bottle mouth and two arms that rise as you twist. Center the collar, turn the top handle clockwise until the wings are fully raised, then press both wings down together in one motion. Its worm is often a thick auger rather than a hollow spiral, which is more likely to shred an old or dry cork, so it suits younger wines and synthetic corks best.

Lever and screwpull-style openers

Lever (rabbit-style) corkscrews clamp around the neck with two grips. Squeeze, pull the lever up and over to drive the worm in, then bring it back to draw the cork out; push it forward and back again over a bin to release the cork. A screwpull is simpler: a frame that sits on the bottle while you turn a long coated worm continuously, and the cork climbs the worm on its own. Both are easy on the hands and good for many bottles, but bulky to carry.

Electric corkscrews

Remove the foil first, hold the bottle firmly on a table, set the opener squarely on the mouth, and press the down button until it stops; the motor drives the worm in and pulls the cork in one cycle. Press up to eject the cork. Keep the unit vertical while it runs, since tilting can bend the worm or split the cork.

How do you read a cork once it is out?

A sound cork is firm, dry on the top end, and stained only on the end that touched the wine. Wine soaked all the way through, or a sticky top, means the seal failed and the wine may be oxidized. A crumbly or shrunken cork is a sign of age or dry storage, not a fault in the wine.

• Stain on the wine end only, firm body: normal. Pour with confidence.
• Wine seeped the full length, or dried residue on top: the seal leaked, usually from heat or long upright storage. Smell before serving; a flat, sherry-like note means oxidation.
• Cork pushed up above the rim before opening: the wine expanded in heat at some stage. It is often fine, but check it.
• Crumbly, dry, or brittle: common in older bottles. The wine can be in perfect condition; open slowly and strain if needed.
• Musty, wet-cardboard smell on the cork and in the glass: cork taint (TCA). The wine is safe but spoiled, and most retailers will replace it.

How do you get a broken or stuck cork out?

If a cork breaks partway out, re-insert the corkscrew at a slight angle into the largest remaining piece and draw it up slowly and straight. If the cork crumbles or is pushed too deep to grip, use a two-prong ah-so, or push the rest into the bottle and pour through a fine strainer. Floating cork is harmless.

• Broken cork, part still in the neck: re-seat the worm in the thickest section, angled slightly toward the glass so the spiral grips the side, and lift gently with the first notch only.
• Cork crumbling: stop twisting — every extra turn breaks off more. Switch to the ah-so, or push what remains into the bottle.
• Cork stuck fast: a dry, aged cork can bond to the glass. Run warm (not hot) water over the neck for 30 seconds, dry the bottle, and try again with slow, even pressure.
• Bits in the wine: pour through a tea strainer, a coffee filter, or cheesecloth into a clean glass or decanter.

The ah-so (two-prong) opener

An ah-so has two flat steel prongs, one slightly longer, and no worm. Slide the longer prong down between the cork and the glass, then the shorter one on the opposite side, and rock the handle side to side while pushing down until the prongs are fully in. Twist and pull upward together; the prongs grip the cork from the outside, so a crumbly or torn cork comes out whole. It is the standard tool for old bottles and the best rescue for a cork a corkscrew has damaged.

Pieces of cork in the wine are a cosmetic problem, not a fault. A wine is only "corked" when it carries a musty, wet-cardboard smell from a tainted cork, which is unrelated to stray crumbs.

How do you open wine without a corkscrew?

With no corkscrew on hand, the safest methods are to twist a long screw into the cork and pull it with pliers or a hammer's claw, or to push the cork down into the bottle with a wooden spoon handle. Both work and the wine is fine to drink. Avoid anything that heats or strikes the bottle, which risks broken glass.

Screw and pliers (or hammer claw)

1. Find a wood screw two inches or longer so it reaches deep into the cork, and remove the foil.
2. Drive the screw in straight with a screwdriver, leaving about half an inch of the head proud.
3. Grip the head with pliers, or hook it with a hammer claw braced on a folded cloth over the rim.
4. Pull straight up, steadily, rocking gently if needed, until the cork lifts out. Have someone hold the bottle if it moves.

Push the cork in

If you cannot pull the cork, push it in. Set the bottle on a solid surface, wrap a towel around the neck for grip, and press the cork down with the blunt handle of a wooden spoon until it drops into the wine. Push slowly; a little wine may spurt up as the cork clears the neck. Pour slowly, since the floating cork drifts toward the neck, or decant through a strainer. This is the most reliable last resort and the least likely to cause injury.

Safety note: skip the online tricks that heat the bottle neck with a torch or boiling water, knock it against a wall, or slam it inside a shoe. Sudden temperature change or impact can crack glass and cause serious cuts. If a method feels forceful, push the cork in instead.

How do you open synthetic corks and screwcaps?

Synthetic corks open with any corkscrew but grip the worm hard, so drive it fully in and use both notches of the lever. Screwcaps need no tool: hold the base of the cap, twist the bottle rather than the cap, and the seal breaks with a click. Neither closure says anything about quality; screwcaps seal more consistently than cork.

Synthetic corks do not crumble, but they are dense and do not compress the way natural cork does, so an electric or lever opener has an easier time than a waiter's corkscrew. They also do not go back in easily once out, so keep a stopper handy. Screwcaps re-close with a quarter turn, which makes them the simplest closure for a bottle you plan to keep for a few days.

How do you open sparkling wine safely?

Chill the bottle well, remove the foil, and keep a thumb on the cork from the moment you loosen the wire cage. Hold the bottle at 45 degrees, pointed away from people, and twist the base of the bottle, not the cork, so the pressure eases it out with a quiet sigh. A warm or shaken bottle is what sends corks flying.

1. 01Chill to about 45°F (7°C). Cold wine holds its carbon dioxide in solution; a warm bottle is under far more pressure and foams over. Thirty minutes in an ice-and-water bath, or three hours in the refrigerator, is enough.
2. 02Remove the foil and loosen the cage. Tear off the foil over the cork. Put your thumb over the top of the cage, untwist the wire loop (six half-turns is standard), and loosen the cage without taking your thumb off the cork.
3. 03Tilt and grip. Drape a cloth over the cork for grip, hold the cork and cage together with one hand, and tilt the bottle to about 45 degrees, aimed at a wall or ceiling and away from anyone.
4. 04Twist the bottle, not the cork. With the other hand on the base, slowly turn the bottle while holding the cork still. You will feel the cork push up under pressure; resist it and let it out gradually.
5. 05Let it sigh. The cork should release with a soft hiss. Keep the bottle tilted for a few seconds so the wine settles, then pour slowly down the side of the glass.

Sparkling wine is under roughly 70 to 90 pounds per square inch, about three times the pressure in a car tire. Never point the bottle at anyone, never loosen the cage without your thumb on the cork, and never use a corkscrew on a sparkling cork.

How do you recork or reseal an open bottle?

To recork wine, put the cork back in — upside down, so the clean end goes into the neck — or use a reusable stopper, which seals more snugly. Then refrigerate it, whites and reds alike. Cold and a tight seal slow the two things that tire wine: air and warmth. A vacuum pump or inert gas removes the air for longer keeping.

The original cork often expands once out and will not slide back the way it came. Flipping it so the narrower, wine-free end leads usually solves that; wrap the end in a square of wax paper if it still sticks. Push it in with a twisting motion, and stop when it is snug rather than forcing it flush.

Refrigerating an open red is the right move; let a glass warm for 15 to 20 minutes before drinking. Store the bottle upright so the wine surface exposed to air in the neck is as small as possible, and keep it away from the fridge door, where the temperature swings each time it opens.

How long does wine last after opening?

Most wine, re-corked and refrigerated, tastes good for three to five days after opening. Lighter, more delicate wines fade faster; sparkling goes flat quickest, in a day or two even with a proper stopper; fortified wines last weeks. The change is gradual — an open bottle rarely goes bad so much as it slowly loses its brightness.

These are guidelines, not rules. Trust your nose and palate: if it still smells fresh and tastes like itself, it is fine to enjoy. A tired wine will not hurt you — it has lost its edge and is better used in cooking than poured out. Wine that smells sharply of vinegar or nail-polish remover has gone past that point.

What temperature should you serve wine at?

Serve sparkling wine at 40–50°F (4–10°C), light whites and rosé at 45–50°F (7–10°C), full-bodied whites at 50–55°F (10–13°C), light reds at 55–60°F (13–16°C), and full-bodied reds at 60–65°F (16–18°C). Room temperature in a modern house is too warm for red and a refrigerator is too cold, so pull each in the right direction before serving.

• Red from a 70°F room: 20 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator brings it to serving temperature.
• White from a 38°F refrigerator: 15 to 20 minutes on the counter opens up the aromatics.
• Too warm and a red tastes soft, alcoholic, and flat; too cold and it tastes hard and closed. Whites served too cold lose most of their aroma.
• An ice-and-water bath chills a bottle in 20 to 30 minutes, far faster than a freezer, with no risk of forgetting it there.