How-to: how do you use a waiter's corkscrew?

You, of course, open a good bottle of wine with a waiter's corkscrew, also called a sommelier knife. A waiter's corkscrew is a corkscrew with a lever with which you can easily and safely remove the cork from a bottle of wine. It is not difficult, but it cannot hurt to learn step-by-step how to open a bottle of wine with a waiter's corkscrew.

Step 1: dusting off and removing the foil

Start by cleaning and drying the bottle. As such you make sure the bottle won't slip from your hands as you open it. A wine bottle with a cork is often enhanced with foil around the bottleneck. This foil is made from plastic or aluminium and ensures that the cork stays in place. Most waiter's corkscrews are enhanced with a special knife to remove the foil. The so-called foil cutter. Use the knife to cut alongside the bottleneck to remove the foil.

Step 2: turning the spiral in the cork

As soon as the cork is 'revealed' it is time to remove it. For it you use the spiral of the waiter's corkscrew. You will find it on almost all corkscrews. Place the bottle on a solid surface and place the tip of the spiral in the middle of the cork. Now carefully turn the spiral into the cork. Make sure you don't twist it too far into the cork! You namely run the risk of tearing the cork or pushing it into the bottleneck. In both cases it means that the cork is more difficult to remove.

Step 3: placing the lever

As soon as the spiral is properly twisted into the cork you place the lever (the metal arm) on the edge of the bottleneck. Push the handle upwards to remove the cork from the bottle. There are also waiter's corkscrews that are enhanced with a two-step lever. For these tools you first place the lower part of the lever followed by the high part of the lever on the edge of the bottleneck. The first time you pull out the cork a little bit, the second time you pull it out completely.

Step 4: enjoy

Voilà! The bottle is open! The next and last step is pouring the wine. Allow the bottle to breathe and, if need be, decant (settle). Pour and enjoy!