It has been a long and dog-tiring work week, heck it was a horrendous one with the boss hounding you for upcoming deadlines and that one workmate that just keeps on pestering you. On that note, it was just a horrible week for sure, but no matter how foul your week was, you still have something to look forward to.
A nice hot bath or shower, a nice and comforting meal paired with your favorite bottle of Prosecco Wine, everything will be okay. But wait, as it turns out, the awful streak has not ended yet at the office, and it seems that you brought home your streak of bad luck. You cannot open the wine bottle, it’s stuck; just great, right? Never fear; there is always a way out.
Champagne and Wine
On the subject of bottles getting stuck, there is an ongoing silent debate on whether wine is better than champagne. For those who are muggles, wine is made by pressing ripe grapes and filtering their juice, called must, and curating it into maturity until it becomes mature enough to be called wine.
On the other hand, champagne is the product of a certain process of sparkling wine-making that was started and popularized in Champagne, France. So Champagnes are part of the wine family, and one of the best-tasting champagnes is like those of Prosecco Wines.
Why do Wine Bottles Get Stuck?
Have you ever stopped to wonder why wine or champagne bottles get stuck? There must be a logical explanation for that, right? It can’t just be some magical, whimsical coincidence. There must be some science around it. The reason for hard-to-open bottles mainly boils down to the cork.
The cork is that brown material that covers the mouth of the wine bottle so that it won’t spill out of the bottle. A wine bottle cork comes from the bark of the cork oak and is used for many purposes, and one of those is to seal wine and champagne bottles. The ‘cork’ is a natural material and will be affected by changes in temperature and other physical stimuli.
If the wine bottle is not stored the proper way and is simply left on its side, the cork could expand within the bottle’s neck due to higher temperatures which naturally causes wood, metal, and other materials like a cork to swell. Another reason for a wine bottle’s cork to get stuck is if, by chance, an inexperienced person was to open the wine bottle. There are correct ways to open a wine bottle.
How to Store a Wine Bottle Properly
Proper storage of things like wine bottles can mean a huge difference, especially when it comes to the longevity of the drinks stored in them. One wrong move and the wine does not age properly because it was not stored properly can cause the wine to spoil.
Some of the tips for the right way to store wine bottles are; storing them laid down horizontally on a proper wine rack, preferably, or an ordinary one will also do; the wine bottles should also be stored in places that do not have extreme temperatures but are at around 45-65 degrees Fahrenheit which is not so hot and not so cold as both have effects on the cork and the wine.
If the wine bottle is stored at a higher and lower temperature, it can cause the cork to dry out and, in turn, affect the wine inside the bottle by making it age prematurely through the seepage of oxygen inside the bottle.
An improper storage technique affects the wine inside the bottle; it will also make it hard to open. The changes the cork undergoes under improper storage can alter how the cork fits snugly on the wine bottle’s mouth and neck, making it lodged inside or making a strong pop like a powerful projectile.
Simple Ways to Open a Stuck Bottle of Wine
Now that the reason why wine bottles get stuck has been revealed, you can now go ahead and try to open your stuck bottle. Oh, is it still hard to do so? Well, here are some tips and information that might be helpful. First of all, use a proper tool to open a wine bottle and stop with the tricks just to impress your friends or your date, like trying to open the bottle with a knife. It is safe to say that you can leave that one to the professionals.
Use a wine bottle opener with an impressive corkscrew that will latch onto the cork, and you can twist the cork slowly and hear that melodious pop as the corks give way to the trapped gasses inside the bottle. There are bottle openers that are manually operated, which means full arm power and strength are needed.
There are fancy ones that are automatic or battery operated, which unscrew the cork from the bottle without any arm strength coming from you. You just have to place them on top of the wine bottle, with very minimal effort if you ask anyone. But if you do not have a wine bottle opener with you can use some simple tricks.
If the cork is lodged in there, you can run the neck of the wine bottle under hot water for a few seconds, just enough to heat the bottle’s neck and make the glass expand to make enough room for the cork to give way. There is also the last resort.
You can try and give it more power, but instead of pulling the cork off, you will push the cork deep into the bottle further until it falls into the wine itself. This is safe unless, of course, the cork is somehow soiled and contaminated from the outside. Then this last resort is out of the question. You would not want to ruin your perfectly good wine by contaminating it with a soiled cork.
Conclusion
Regardless of how you open your stuck wine bottle, at the end of the day, you just want to enjoy the fruits of your labor. So go ahead, try and try until you eventually get there.
I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing. With years of experience tasting and evaluating various beers, I love to share my opinions and insights with others and I am always eager to engage in lively discussions about my favorite beverage.
