How to Open a Bottle of Wine With a Corkscrew When the Cork Breaks
Nothing can be more embarrassing than breaking your cork while trying to open a bottle of wine with a corkscrew. According to "Wine Spectator Magazine," a broken cork is not always your fault; it can mean the wine has become oxidized and bad or the cork may have been extra long. The corkscrew itself may have been dull or the cork may be fragile from old age. Do not panic. You can recover from it and still serve your wine elegantly. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Pull out the top part of the broken cork with your corkscrew. Screw off the cork from your corkscrew. Examine the neck of your wine to see where the rest of the cork is. If it is not too far into the bottle, it can be rescued.
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Choose a corkscrew with an open spiral to open wine. Work the spiral part of your corkscrew back into the remaining cork without pushing it into the wine bottle. Carefully screw as much as you can or approximately 1 1/2 inch, if possible.
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Pull out the rest of the corkscrew as gently as possible. If cork remains in the bottle, screw the tip of the corkscrew back into the cork.
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Scrape out the cork with the corkscrew if the cork has risen close to the top of the bottle's opening. Use the corkscrew's sharp tip to grab as much cork as you can and pull it out.
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Strain the wine into a decanter through cheesecloth or fine muslin if there are pieces of crumbled cork in the wine. A coffee filter can substitute for cheesecloth.
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Tips & Warnings
Sometimes it is easier to push the cork into the wine to prevent the cork from completely crumbling into the bottle. Push down the broken cork when pouring.
Keep your wine stored on its side to make sure the cork stays moist and wet to prevent the cork from breaking.
Always screw a corkscrew central and deep into a cork, roughly 2 inches, to prevent breaking it.
References
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