If you open enough bottles of older wine, it’s bound to happen to you. While opening a special bottle of wine, you remove the corkscrew only to find bits of cork attached. Staring down into the bottleneck you see the bulk of it remains, despite your best efforts.
The worries are twofold: saving face as one battles with the obvious lack of expertise and, most importantly, preserving the precious wine. Can it still be drunk after a cork disaster?
We’ve asked an expert for techniques and coping strategies. Alexandre Freguin’s first piece of advice is clear: ‘Do not stress. This will only make it worse.’ Freguin, UK Best Sommelier 2018, former head sommelier at Chez Bruce and Famille Perrin brand ambassador, has had to deal with his share of tricky corks.
The most important strategy, particularly in one of the world’s top restaurants, is keeping one’s cool.
The cork has crumbled. Now what?
The simplest and most obvious solution is to find a way to filter the wine.
‘Clearing the wine from the floating bits of cork is the goal,’ says Freguin. ‘I find that a very thin cloth is particularly useful and works well. Cover a funnel with the cloth and pour the wine into another container, such as a decanter.’
But it’s important that you handle the wine delicately.
‘Be careful. If we are talking about an old and probably fragile wine, I wouldn’t pour the entire bottle out, only until the pieces of cork have fallen on
