A Stubborn Cork. A Cheap Towel. A Bloody Mess Averted.

Wine critics who open a lot of bottles (and the rest of us ordinary plonk sippers) should seriously consider the protection a cheap kitchen towel can provide when encountering a stubborn cork.

Over the years, I’ve encountered corks that were so firmly fixed to the neck of a bottle that they were nearly too tight to remove.

After a few minor encounters with glass splinters and a waiter’s corkscrew, I’ve used a towel– over the neck to protect my hand while holding the bottle, and right at the pressure point where the corkscrew metal meets the glass lip of the bottle — to cushion and to keep it from scratching the glass.

Tonight, that practice saved me from a trip to the emergency room and possible hand  surgery.

After beginning carefully, slowly, trying to work the cork loose a bit, the whole neck exploded.

The biggest piece flew a good four feet and landed in one of the kitchen island prep sinks. Smaller glass shrapnel flew everywhere, one piece bounced off my glasses.

The glass was sharp enough to slash the cork like a razor blade in half a dozen places.

Thanks to the cheap kitchen towel (bought by the huge bundle at Costco) my fingers came out unscathed instead of a shredded bloody mass. Close call.

Oh, and don’t even think of drinking a bottle that ends up this way.

I poured the prosecco out, screening it with a clean towel. Numerous chips, flakes and tiny shards of glass had been left in the bottle.