Vintage Port Tongs / Opener

Product Information

Proceed with service of the port as usual, ideally decanting the wine from the bottle into a decanter for service. Most people prefer to use a strainer of some time, such as a cheesecloth-lined funnel, to be sure that no glass shards or wine sediment makes it into the decanter. The longer you spin the spiral through the cork, the more the plunger is automatically lifted out of the bottle while the spiral pierces the cork. Port tongs were invented in the 18 th century as a way to cleanly decapitate bottles of vintage port whose old corks might otherwise break or disintegrate with the use of a corkscrew.

Can the wire be partially untwisted, such that it can be threaded through itself before being attached to the handles? That might reduce the rotation torque applied to the bottle. Port tongs are a unique way to open a wine bottle. Traditionally use in Oporto and England to open very old bottles of port, the use of tongs to open port nowadays is rare but a sight to behold. The use of tongs is for some a romantic and exciting way to serve and highlight a great bottle of ancient port. Even if you don't use them, having a pair of tongs hanging on your wall is a fun decoration and conversation piece. Enjoy the Port Tongs that multiple James Beard Award Winning and Michelin Rated Restaurants rely on for their wine and port service. Heated tongs are thought to be the best means of opening old bottles of vintage port. About theVintage Port Tongs Let’s pay a visit to the outer fringes of the wine accessories world – a sometimes dangerous place where bottle tops are cut off, wine is poured from the ceiling and the glasses hold entire bottles – to find our perfect gift.How Do You Use Port Tongs?For those of you who are really gung-ho and into port, trying to open your next bottle with tongs may be an exciting proposition. However, it is not always easy and if done poorly can ruin your bottle, make a mess, and more importantly, can be quite dangerous! If you are interested regardless, read on. Corkscrews vary in their style from the classic waiters’ friend, most commonly used in the restaurant environment, to Screwpulls and even ‘The Rabbit’.

Not all Port wine styles are sealed with a driven cork, some styles such as Aged Tawny Ports, or Late Bottled Vintage Port use a stopper cork, which allows the wine to be resealed on a number of occasions and easily removed by hand. All Vintage Port wines are closed with a natural cork and therefore need to be neatly opened with a good corkscrew. Throughout the history of wine, decanters have played a significant role in the serving of wine. No more so is this tradition than the serving of Vintage Port. Decanters come in all shapes and sizes, the flat based Ship's decanter being commonly used for Port. Rather more obscure and rare is the Hoggit, a round-bottomed decanter that cannot be put down unless resting on its wooden base, thus ensuring that guests keep passing it round the table. In recent years there has been an explosion of different shaped wine glasses into the market, all professing their ability to deliver the most amazing of wine experiences through their individual shape and design. For this we should be grateful, as it allows us to say farewell to the dreaded Paris goblet, the Schooner or the thimble size glass that has been the bane of Port wine through the ages. If you are anything like me, you love to open bottles of wine. There are many ways to open a bottle of wine and extract the sweet nectar that lies within. There are many options at your disposal: a corkscrew, an Ah-So, a Champagne Saber,a screw and hammer, and even a shoe to open up a wine bottle. My favorite, however, is the port tong.Initially the tongs must be heated until the tongs are hot and red. This can be done in an open fireplace or over a gas burner. The fact that the cork is fully penetrated is the weakness of this type of corkscrew, as you risk that the cork crumbles. It also takes a while to liberate the cork from the spiral after use. Try the lever corkscrew Often very old vintage port wines have very soft and highly delicate corks that are very fragile. Therefore it can be quite a challenge to open a bottle without the cork crumbling into the wine. The electric corkscrew may resemble a pepper grinder at first sight, but it is a sought-after tool that makes it much easier to open a bottle of wine for people with arthritis, for example. The T-shaped corkscrew is a great basic The waiter’s friend is a favourite among many sommeliers. That is why it is also called a sommelier knife, and others call it a wine key. The tool is reliable and easy to work with, and you have everything you need to open a wine bottle in one product.