Opening a bottle of wine has the potential to be very satisfying indeed. Not only is drinking a nice bottle of wine a pleasure due to how good the wine tastes but hearing the cork “pop” off of the bottle is also something that makes people happy.
People consider popping the cork off of a bottle of wine to be a part of the experience. This is so much the case that some people think that there is something wrong with the wine if there was no pop when the wine bottle was opened.
Is there always supposed to be a pop when you open a bottle of wine? Or is it only certain types of wine that pop when they’re opened?
Read on to explore this topic further so that you can truly understand what’s going on with wine corks. You’ll have a greater understanding and appreciation for the process when all is said and done.
It Might Depend on How You Open the Wine
Whether or not there is going to be an audible popping sound might depend on many factors. You need to consider the way that you’re opening the wine and whether that lends itself to creating the popping sound or not.
When you’re opening a standard bottle of wine, it’s going to be more likely to make the popping sound if you open it fast. If you’re using a leverpull wine opener, then you’ll be a lot more likely to hear that loud satisfying popping noise that you remember.
Things are a lot different when you’re opening a bottle of wine slowly, though. You might be using a waiter’s screw to open the wine, and this is generally a bit slower than using the leverpull wine opener.
Sometimes you won’t hear much of a pop when using a waiter’s screw to open wine. This is especially true if you slowly screw the cork out, but it doesn’t mean that anything is wrong.
If you think that not hearing a significant popping sound matters, then you should know that it really doesn’t. It really is likely dependent on what method you’re using to open the wine bottle.
The Age of the Cork
Sometimes the age of the cork can play a role in the sound that is produced. If you’re opening a bottle of wine that has a very old cork, then it might have lost some of its resilience over the years.
These older corks might be perfectly capable of keeping their seals, but it could impact the noise that they will make when opened. They might wind up being significantly quieter than corks that are more resilient.
Many people don’t consider whether the cork itself will have an impact on the sound being made. It really does, though, and sometimes the age of the cork is the main factor that determines whether you’ll hear a loud popping sound upon opening the bottle of wine.
So next time you open a bottle of wine and wonder why it was a little quieter than usual, it’s going to be wise to consider how old the wine is. An older bottle of wine will have an older cork, and that means that the cork has a greater chance of having reduced resilience.
Sparkling Wines Are Louder
Sparkling wines are going to be the ones that make the most noise because of all of the carbon dioxide that has built up inside of the bottle. This pressure in the sparkling wine bottles will cause the corks to pop off in dramatic fashion, and the audible popping sound is something that people have come to expect.
Generally, the popping sound that you’ll hear when opening sparkling wine bottles will be much more impressive than the sound of opening a normal wine bottle. If you’re looking for that classic popping sound that you think about hearing in movies, then opening a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine is what you need to do.
It is notable that sparkling wine enthusiasts try not to make the loud pop happen, though. You see, you’ll be letting a lot of the gas out of the bottle if you allow the big dramatic pop to occur.
If you push back a bit on the cork as it’s about to pop out, then it won’t make quite as much noise and you can keep more of the gas in the sparkling wine bottle. Those who just want to make a show of things might prefer to let the big popping sound go off without a hitch, though.
Essentially, when someone with skill opens a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine, it’s unlikely that the big pop will happen. They know better than to do that because they want everyone to enjoy the champagne or sparkling wine to the fullest.
Preventing the loud pop from happening will ensure that the sparkling wine or champagne tastes the best that it can. You’ll only hear a small popping sound when the bottle opens if it’s done correctly, and sometimes there won’t be much of a sound at all.
It’s generally when someone without experience opens a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine that you’ll hear the big pop. People will sometimes do this on purpose because they like the sounds.
For example, you might have seen sports players celebrating championship wins by popping sparkling wine bottles and spraying the wine everywhere. If the sparkling wine is meant to be enjoyed, then you wouldn’t need to make the big popping noise or be dramatic.
Not All Bottles of Wine Use Corks
It’s also true that not all bottles of wine utilize corks to seal the wine inside. Cork seals are fairly common still, but many bottles of wine that you’ll buy from the store will use screw caps.
You might hear more of a subtle cracking sound rather than a loud pop when you open a bottle of wine that has a screw cap. Of course, the type of sound that you’ll hear will depend on many things such as the type of wine, how much gas is being released, and other such things.
The thing to remember is that the loud popping sound that you’re expecting is only relevant to the bottles of wine that use corks. You shouldn’t expect the same loud sound to come when you’re unscrewing a cap off of your bottle of wine.
Final Thoughts
Opening a bottle of wine is likely going to be satisfying whether you hear the pop of a cork or not. Some people really get enjoyment out of hearing the sound of a bottle popping, but experts say that you should try to make as little noise as possible.
You now know that not all bottles of wine will make a loud popping sound, too. Some bottles of wine use screw caps that make completely different noises when the seals are opened.
It’s also true that only sparkling wines and champagne make dramatic popping noises when the corks are pooped due to how much carbon dioxide is built up inside. Even then, experienced individuals will limit the amount of sound that can be heard when opening the bottles to preserve the gas in the wine.
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.