Involved with Freemark Abbey since the 1980 harvest and named its head winemaker in 1985, Ted has enjoyed a stellar career at one of Napa Valley’s most storied properties. In addition to steering the winemaking ship all of this time, he gets to monitor his (and his predecessors’) wines’ development in the bottle. “Every so often we go through and pull open a bottle of everything,” he said. “We like to see how it’s holding up, what its qualities are and characteristics and such. So I have notes on all of these vintages.”
First, place the long “tine” between the inside of the neck and the cork. Don’t push too hard or too far, just about 3mm. Gently pull back on the long “tine” just enough to be able to position the short “tine” between the cork and the neck. In a slow side to side ‘rocking’ motion, gently push the Ah-So into the bottle, one tine at a time. Emphasis on gentle. Once the Ah-So is all the way in, hold the bottle firmly. Twist and pull all at once. The cork should easily come out.
