First recorded in H. Kelly’s School for Wives (1773), the “cracking a bottle” expression mean something more thrilling than what we perceive it now. During the earlier times, cracking a bottle means removing the main part of the neck of the wine by making a small crack on it.

Such practice is commonplace with vintage ports where the neck of the bottle features slight bulbous, providing extra space for the cork to expand. After a few years or so, the cork of the wine bottle become fragile that is may easily crumble. In those times tongs are utilized. Tongs are metals used for gripping and lifting. Its two arms grip the neck of the bottle. Once this tongs are heated, the neck of the bottle cracks and cleanly comes off.

There are many ways of doing this. In some instances, the wine bottle is put in an upright position and a linen cloth is placed on the point where the crack ought to be made. The linen should be soaked in the water first before it is wound around the bottleneck. Soon after, the wine can be pour into another container. The remains of the bottle and splinters will be thrown.

It is just a treat that we don’t have to do these practices now. With corkscrew and great bottling innovations, cracking a bottle will be fuss-free. Now we need not crack the neck off that delicate wine bottle. For more information about wines, explore http://vino.com.