I just spent about 20 mins opening a bottle of wine! Why?

[Psurfer]

1. I first put in a traditional corkscrew, and couldn't pull it out for the life of me. Finally, the steel corkscrew broke off from its wooden handle.
2. Inserted air-pump style needle opener through a different part of the cork. Would not budge it. I then removed the screw from the cork w/a pair of locking pliers.
3. Went at it w/another corkscrew, similar to #1. This one finally gave up the ghost by pulling itself out of its wooden handle.
4. With the upper straight part of screw #2 still protruding from the cork, I clamped said shank in a shop vice, and w/the bottle upright (hanging beneath the vice jaws), used all my weight to force the neck of the bottle down. No luck.
5. Finally, against my creed, pushed the cork into the bottle.

Why was this so hard? I had the bottle chilled in the fridge beforehand, a very cheap Chardonnay I intended to cook with, Crane Lake.

[Racer X]

I would have used a sturdy corkscrew from the beginning, and it if failed, pounded the frickin' cork inside right off the bat.

[DavidS]

Yikes. I hope your meal was good and didn't taste too much like cork or corkscrew for that matter.

[Carm]

LOL. I would have done the same as Racer X

Carm

[vicrock]

Secret for a recalcitrant cork is to run the outside of the neck of the bottle under very hot tap water - also use a good waiter's lever corkscrew, or a "rabbit" type.

[Racer X]

I have one like this. very cheap from the grocery store. The only trouble I ever had with it was the screw unscrewed from the top part. I cleaned it with brake cleaner and put on some Loctite stud lock and it has been fine ever since

[blooz]

I was going to ask "out of practice?"

A good quality cork remover is a necessity if you drink good wine.

Night Train Express, though, I think comes wityh a screw-top.

[OWC Jamie]

Professional cork soaker needed ...
SNL

[OWC Larry]

Love those little bumps.... 20-20 hindsight looking back - but throughout the time consuming process, well, already got the time in and no turning back.

Hope the meal turned out well for the effort!

[JoeBob]

[quote blooz]I was going to ask "out of practice?"

A good quality cork remover is a necessity if you drink good wine.
My thought exactly.
Sounds like a bad cork, though.