Opening an old vintage is an exceptional moment. That is why it is essential to take all precautions to ensure that this moment is successful. The bottle must have been prepared in advance for the occasion. Opening an old wine also requires having the right corkscrew.

What to do before opening an old bottle of wine?

First of all, we advise you to keep your bottle in an vertical position for a few days before opening it. This allows the suspended elements to settle at the bottom of the bottle.

Is your bottle ready? Here are a few rules to follow to “free” this vintage that has been waiting in its bottle for perhaps 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years!

Now take it out of its storage location. Depending on the case, it must be opened at least four hours before tasting it.

Remove the capsule, as with a classic bottle, and clean the neck with a dry cloth.

Over the years, the cork has probably deteriorated, particularly the lower part in contact with the wine. The Grands Crus Classés pay particular attention to the quality of their cork, but fragility is inevitable over time.

So you’ll have to proceed slowly and delicately.

What corkscrew should I use to open an old bottle?

After many years in contact with wine, the cork is naturally weakened. The cork can tend to disintegrate more easily if handled too roughly. This fragility is completely normal and increases over time. To be able to extract it from the neck of the bottle, you will therefore have to proceed with the greatest care.

There are a wide variety of corkscrews that boast practicality, originality, and speed. But most of them are not suitable for old wines.

The main types of corkscrew that we will remember

• Tire-bouchon simple “mèche pleine” : Simple corkscrew “full wick”: it behaves like a classic DIY screw with a central rod. It has the disadvantage of not having much grip in the cork and therefore increases the risk that the corkscrew will tear off, creating a hole in the cork. It will therefore become very complicated to find another place to prick yourself and the risk of seeing the cork come off in several pieces becomes very high.
• Lever corkscrew (type “Screwpull” or “Charles de Gaulle”) : They have a screw that provides a very good grip on the cork, which is a good point. The disadvantage of these corkscrews is that they only allow vertical forces to be exerted. When inserting, there is a risk of the cork falling out by pressing too hard, and when extracting, there is no possibility of correcting the orientation, which increases the risk of tearing.
• The lemonade maker : Very widespread, it has the advantage of being in almost all kitchens. Its main weak point lies in its wick which is generally too short and tight. It risks not going all the way through the cork and therefore extracting the upper part, leaving the other part behind in the neck. You have to be careful and not hesitate to screw it back a little more during extraction. Be careful with the lever principle of the lemonade maker which tends to “bend” the cork, which encourages it to tear. Handle with great care.
• Sommelier knife : It has all the good features with a long and helical wick. Quite similar to the lemonade maker, be careful not to bend the cap at the risk of breaking it into 2 parts. Prefer models with two support notches which limit the leverage effect.
• The bimetallic strip : Particularly recommended for corks in poor condition, this type of extraction requires a certain amount of skill at the risk of pushing the cork and complicating the situation.
• “Pigtail Wick” Corkscrew : Probably the best option to limit the risks. Very simple and with an excellent grip on the cork, it allows you to control the extraction throughout. You have to be very careful when screwing so as not to apply force towards the bottom with the risk of dropping the cork. To do this, apply the tip to the cork while keeping the corkscrew horizontal then, in a screwing movement, insert the tip of the screw by exerting pressure towards the neck while bringing the corkscrew vertically. The drawing below shows the steps.

If, during this operation, pieces of cork remain stuck to the neck or fall into the bottle, we advise you to patiently collect them with a long, thin utensil (jam spoon handle for example).

And after?

With the bottle uncorked, it’s time to smell its contents.

Do you like its aroma? Then there is no need to air the wine for more than an hour before tasting it. You can always close the bottle, temporarily, with a dry cork.

If, on the contrary, its aroma seems unpleasant to you, don’t worry. After all these years of confinement, the wine needs to be aired for about four hours.