There are many types of wine corkscrews, but most are relatively easy to use. The basic technique is to screw a metal screw into the cork and then pull it out, with wine keys and winged corkscrews taking the least effort.

Use the wine key

1. The wine key, this tool has several parts. You'll see a long metal spiral called a "worm" and a flatter section that acts as a lever when opening a bottle of wine. Depending on the model, your wine key may also have a short blade that you can use to cut the foil if the cork is covered. The screw and lever sections will fold into the wine key handle, unfold them and your key is ready to use.

2 Screw the metal screw into the cork, poking the sharp point of the metal screw slightly out of the center of the cork. Gently twist clockwise until only one worm screw is shown. Typically, this will take about six and a half turns.

If necessary, first use a blade or worm tip to cut the foil from the cork.

3 Put the lever on the bottle, the flat bar on the wine key will have two curved notches on its side. Position the lever so that it fits snugly against the lip of the glass bottle next to the cork. This will provide leverage to help you extract the cork.

4 Shake and twist the cork to remove it, using a gentle sideways motion while pulling on the handle of the wine key. If you need more support when pulling, you can turn your hand to the lever portion of the wine key.