An hour before party guests were to arrive, the jeroboam of 2008 Melville Pinot Noir was finally being opened. Francesca expertly removed the heavy red wax covering the cork and then took a spiral corkscrew and went to work.
"Uh oh". The cork was spongy and there was a neat hole in the middle where it had been pierced. Unfortunately, the cork was firmly in place and no standard corkscrew was ever going to get it out. "We need an ah-so". To need. That was us. We didn't have one.
Living rural, buying one from a store was out of the question. What to do? Ever thinking, Francesca recommended that we call "Rivers End", a local high-end restaurant with a nice bar. Perhaps we could borrow one.
I was soon dialing their number and spoke to a cheerful hostess named Monica. I quickly went into 911 mode. "Hi my name is Lotus Fong, I live on xyz street and I have a wine emergency" I said emphatically. "I am in desperate need of an ah-so". After giggling a bit, she said they had one and I was welcomed to use it. Yay!
I bundled up the jeroboam in my arms and realized I had moved our cars far from our home that morning to make room for our guests. So, I went to my neighbors, knocked firmly at their door and explained the wine emergency. Neighbor Pamela did what all good thinking wine drinkers would do. She stopped what she was doing and drove me to the restaurant with haste.
A few minutes later, with the proper tool in hand, the cork slid off and a delicious time capsule was finally opened. Success! Disaster averted! And yes, the wine was delicious and yes, we finished that bottle and several more. And yes, I've since purchased a two prong corkscrew.
