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Tips from the Experts

How to Use a Winged Corkscrew to Open a Bottle of Wine

Winged corkscrews can remove corks very quickly and with relatively little effort.
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Published Dec. 6, 2017.

How to Use a Winged Corkscrew to Open a Bottle of Wine

To use a winged corkscrew, first put the bottle on a table or flat surface and remove the foil in order to expose the cork. If the bottle doesn’t have a pull-tab that allows you to remove the top of the capsule (foil covering), you can do this either by pulling the entire capsule off, or by using a dedicated foil cutter to trim around the perimeter of the foil right above the lip on the bottleneck.

Then, lift the wings slightly so that you can grasp the base of the corkscrew with your nondominant hand. Place the base on the top of the bottleneck and hold it and the bottleneck with your nondominant hand. With your dominant hand, center the tip of the worm in the middle of the cork and twist the handle clockwise (for most models) until the worm is almost completely embedded in the cork and the wings of the model are raised in a V-for-Victory shape. Use both hands to press down on the wings, driving the cork up and out of the bottle.

To remove the cork from the corkscrew, simply grasp the cork with your nondominant hand and twist counterclockwise until the worm exits.

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