Ever Wonder? How is the Best Way to Remove the Foil from a Wine Bottle?

Foil Cutters

Here are a couple of preferred methods for removing the foil from a wine bottle.

When you open a bottle of wine, the first line of defense on the bottle is usually a foil ‘capsule’ that covers the cork. If you have a wine bottle with a twist-off cap, you’re good-to-go. But, if your wine bottle does include a foil capsule, you are going to need to remove it to get to the cork.

Ever wondered how best to remove the foil? Well, there are several methods that include just tearing it off my hand, pulling the capsule up and off the neck of the bottle or just inserting the cork screw directly into the foil and pulling the cork out through the foil. But, let’s focus on two preferred methods - using a wine opener knife and using a specially designed foil cutter.

A Sommelier (a wine steward) will usually use the small knife that unfolds from the end of a corkscrew (see the lower part of photo). This handy little knife can be used to cut around the neck of the bottle just below the rim. Once you’ve cut into the foil, it will come right off and expose the cork for its removal.

The other, simpler method of removing the foil is to use a specially designed foil cutter (shown in the middle and upper part of the photo). They work by simply placing the cutter on top of the bottle, squeezing gently and twisting it around the top of the bottle. The four small circular blades will make a nice even cut around the foil allowing the top of the capsule to come right off.

Like most everything, not all corkscrews and foil cutters are the same. Make the small investment in a nice quality one and it will not only work well but last for years. Cheers!

The Best Type of Wine Opener: A Double-Hinged Waiter's Corkscrew

In the past, I had always used a traditional corkscrew to open a bottle of wine. Now, I use nothing but a wine key or waiter’s corkscrew.

A traditional corkscrew has two arms that lift and a top pull that twists. A wine key, sometimes called a waiter’s corkscrew, has a small knife for cutting the foil capsule that covers the cork and uses a metal fulcrum positioned on the lip of the bottle to create leverage to lift the cork up and out.

A double-hinged waiter’s corkscrew allows you to pull the cork in two steps because it has a double lever system.

Using one may at first seem complex but it’s actually quite simple.

• Place the tip of the screw or “worm” at the center of the cork

• Press down lightly as you twist the corkscrew down into the cork

• Keep turning until just one loop of the corkscrew is left above the cork

• Bend the hinge so that the curved notch sits on the lip of the bottle

• Hold the notch against the bottle lip for leverage with one hand and pull the corkscrew up with the other hand

• Then, switch to the second notch and continue pulling the cork out of the bottle (bottom photos)

• Once the cork is out of the bottle, twist the cork off the worm by hand

It may take some practice to use the waiter’s style corkscrew but once you get the knack, you’ll never go back to what you were previously using. Cheers!