You've heard of first world problems, but have you heard of new world problems? We had a problem that fits neatly in both categories during a trip to the South Island of NZ, where we had planned to open a bottle of Etna Rosso for dinner. You may enquire at this point if we really packed wine when heading to one of the world's great wine producing regions. The answer is, of course. A friend suggested this was like taking sand to a beach, but what if you want a bit of variety in your sand?
Anyway, we discovered that our accomodation didn't have a corkscrew, and we had neglected to pack one. After a search today, we couldn't find one at the nearest supermarket, or even at the local bottle shop. It seems the takeover of screw caps in New Zealand is nearly complete. We eventually found one at a camping store.
But without one to hand at the time we needed it, we resorted to google. A list of eight techniques for removing a cork without a corkscrew was served up from the evil empire (Dan Murphy's). Most of them required other tools we also didn't have. Some resulted in mangling the top of the cork, but not actually removing it.
But we had success with the wooden spoon technique: using the handle of a wooden spoon to push the cork back into the bottle. Any long, blunt object that has a diameter less than the neck of the bottle would do the trick. A few drops may be spilled, but the reward is worth it.
Success! The cork remaining in the bottle can make pouring difficult, so we held it back with the wooden spoon handle and decanted the wine.
Unfortunately, our success meant that we didn't get to try the final option that we had considered using: the shoe technique. This involves turning the bottle upside down after removing the foil, and hitting the bottom of the bottle with a shoe, perhaps cushioned by a towel, to dislodge the cork.
We couldn't bring ourselves to attempt it with the Sohler Pinot Noir that we opened the following night. (yes, we even brought a Pinot to the southern home of Pinot - we do love a side by side...)
p.s. we send one of our favourite corkscrews, the Murano (below), to anyone who signs up for a Vino Cammino fine wine subscription. It is a joy to use.
