Where Should You Be Slicing Your Wine Foil?

You'll notice a lot of wine bottles have a foil cap on them. This sort of wrapping (often referred to as the capsule) was initially made of lead or tin and used to keep cork moths and other pests from damaging the cork. Nowadays, the foil is mostly decorative, though it can provide some protection during shipping and storage. The easiest method to remove a wine bottle's foil is the same one used by sommeliers, which does require a proper waiter's corkscrew (also known as a wine key). Every good corkscrew has a small curved knife folded in the handle.

The top of a wine bottle has a raised ring of glass around it, below the opening and above the neck. You'll want to cut around the bottom of that ring, also referred to as the second lip. Run the sharp edge of the corkscrew's blade first around the front of the ring and then flip the blade and run it along the backside. This method is used in restaurants so that the label of the bottle is always facing the guest, though if you're doing this at home, you can also just rotate the bottle as you cut.

Then, slice the foil vertically up that ring towards the opening, which will allow you to peel off a round of foil. This way, the decorative capsule remains on the neck, but no wine will come in contact with the foil as you pour. While we always recommend having a corkscrew on hand, you can certainly peel the foil off by hand and open up a bottle of wine without an opener – it just won't be nearly as classy.

But wait, you shout at me, what if my bottle of wine has a wax top? Well, impatient reader, your life is made even easier. Like foil, wax caps are largely an aesthetic choice and don't really keep unopened wine from going bad. Some winemakers see it as more environmentally friendly since it is easier to remove wax in the recycling process, and others use wax because of tradition or as an extra layer of protection for the cork. 

The easiest way to open a wax-topped wine bottle is to just drive right through the wax as if it wasn't there. The big caveat there is that sometimes the wax will break in uneven, jagged patterns and leave some shards or dust near the lip of the bottle. When this happens, stop pulling up the cork at the halfway point and simply take a paper towel or clean cloth and wipe the bits of wax off. That way, pieces of wax won't fall into the open bottle. Whether your wine has a foil or wax top, there's no reason to be intimidated. For those that are, certain drinkers can stick to boxed wine.