A wine key is generally considered to be a very welcome item when it comes to celebrating a special night out or simply enjoying a relaxing meal with family or friends. The wine key, or corkscrew, is a sommelier’s bestie. The two are almost never seen apart. However, it might surprise you, and possibly a few sommeliers, that there is such a thing as wine key cross-contamination. Let’s take a quick dive into how your wine key might be a contamination risk and how “cork taint” or cork-related bacteria can be prevented.
The Hidden Risks of Wine Keys
For the most part, wine key contamination risk stems from the nature of wine service itself. In a restaurant or bar environment, wine keys are used repeatedly in a single shift as they are freely passed from hand to hand or stored on a server or bartender without much thought. Wine keys are also exposed to a variety of germ-rich surfaces which include corks as well as bottle necks and even glassware from time to time. Every interaction with a wine key or corkscrew increases the risk of wine key cross-contamination as potential germs are passed from communal surfaces to fabrics to hands.
Routine wine key sanitation is often neglected as the responsibility usually falls on the individual server or bartender since each may carry their own tool. Some individuals may build a good wine key sanitation routine, but few establishments actively choose to properly clean or sanitize a wine key after each use. While it seems unlikely, improper sanitation could actually result in the spreading of pathogens such as norovirus and Staphylococcus aureus. Slight traces of mold from old corks can even stay on the actual corkscrew itself unless that utensil is properly sanitized.
Wine key cross-contamination is not limited to restaurants or public venues. A wine key can sit in your home unused for weeks, possibly months. In this casual state, the corkscrew can collect dust and microbes from drawers or other kitchen settings. Negligent wine key sanitation isn’t a problem limited to the professionals or a risk you mitigate by simply enjoying wine at home if you don’t adhere to a strict cleaning routine.
The Key To Safety
To lower the risk of wine key cross-contamination, it is essential to develop the routine of cleaning or sanitizing your corkscrew after each use or, at the very least, at the end of each shift. When washing your wine key, be sure to give it the diligence you would other dishes or utensils with hot water and soap. Assigning wine keys to servers can mitigate the risks of communal sharing, but this does place the responsibility of keeping the corkscrews safe from cross-contamination risk on the individual servers. This is where proper education and training come in.
Wine Server Training
We’re here to help if you’re looking to get started or get ahead in the hospitality industry. Our food handler and alcohol server training programs are state-approved and remarkably affordable. With most courses taking under two hours to complete, you can register and become fully certified in a single sitting. If you’re ready to prove yourself in the food or alcohol industry and be a safe sommelier, this is where you start. Find the alcohol server course for your state and enjoy a quick and easy enrollment process.
