Buying Wine
  Storing Wine
  Serving Tempuratures
  Extracting the Cork
  Glassware
  Saving what's left
  Food Pairing
  Varietals

Extracting the Cork.

Stoppers formed from the spongy bark of the cork oak tree have been used to seal wine containers for over 2,000 years. Since the 17th century, when glass bottles originated, they have been the vintner's preferred method for protecting wine from air. Today, although there are effective and inexpensive alternatives to cork -- such as metal screwcaps, which require no implement to open -- wine consumers are still attached to the romance and tradition of the cork stopper.

There are many different kinds of corkscrews, ranging from simple screw devices that require the user to do all the physical work of extraction to high-tech models that (to some degree) replace human exertion with mechanical function.

A good, inexpensive cork screw choice is the original waiter's corkscrew ($5 to $6), so-called because it is the favorite of waiters around the world. It consists of a plated metal handle about 4" in length with a slender, fold-out 2" screw in the middle and a small knife to cut the capsule, which can either be removed entirely or cut just below the lip of the bottle neck to remove only the capsule top. At one end of the handle is a 2" fold-out attachment that serves as a fulcrum for the extraction of the cork. After inserting the screw into the middle of the cork, place the recessed end of this piece firmly against the lip of the neck of the bottle. Then, using the attachment as a support to put counter-pressure on the bottle neck, pull up to remove the cork. After removing the cork, wipe the lip of the bottle with a damp cloth.

There are other inexpensive corkscrews, but most have one or more weaknesses. For example, some wine cork pullers have overly large screws that tend to shred the cork, while others, like the two-pronged versions, can push loose corks down into the bottle.

If you prefer a more modern, mechanical device, the best choice is probably one of the many models of the Screwpull -- devices with supports that brace themselves against the bottle while the cork comes out with a twist.

Whatever you use, don't be intimidated by the process of removing the cork. Once you get the hang of it, there isn't much to it.