Good Morning!

I received an email asking me about corkscrews and other wine openers and asking what do I use to open my wine. I have used just about anything to get my wines opened. I have even watched the youtube video that shows the guy who puts his wine in his shoe and then whacks the shoe on the side of a wall to eventually have the cork stick out the end of the bottle and then you can grab the cork and pull it out. (We tried this once and yes it worked but it shook the wine so much, it had to relax for quite sometime before we drank it). But that being said, it does work and I figure if you need to open a bottle and have to use this method, you do not care about waiting for the wine to calm down.

I have been given all kinds of openers over the years and I love anything that helps me get to my wine the easist but I do have my favorite. There are 4 major types of wine openers and the most traditional is the corkscrew and it will have some sort of transverse handle and a pointy metal tip on the end of a spiral or screw. The corkscrew is normally offset to create leverage on the helix.

Fine wines normally have about a 2 inch cork so you really need to have a corkscrew that will penetrate at least 1.5 inches into the cork. If you have an older bottle of wine, go all the way through to the bottom of the cork, and pull up slowly, these corks can be fragile and and can be prone to breaking off. (It’s not a tragedy if the cork breaks, but it will also not make your day).

The 4 common openers are Waiter’s Corkscrew, Winged Corkscrew, Ah-So and Screwpull. Their are versions of these now that have been automated and some new ones that have a needle that you would pierce the cork and push through the cork and then the canister will force air into the bottle and it will force the cork out of the bottle. I have seen in many restaurants that a bar mounted corkscrews that are made of brass and they are impressive looking and I am sure when the orders are stacking up, the server can open bottles quickly.

Waiter’s Corkscrew is a small, classic corkscrew that contains a worm, a knife and a lever that also has a bottle opener. All of these fold up and it is kinda like a pocket knife. It is easy to use, you would insert the worm slightly off center and screw it all the way into the cork. Prop the lever against the bottle rim and pull straight upwards, easing the cork out. (This is my personal fav…I have one in my purse, in my car and my travel make-up bag).

Winged Corkscrew this style has a center worm, with a winglike lever on each side. (When I first started drinking wine, this was my favorite opener). To operate, simply place the mouth of the corkscrew over the bottle’s lip and turn the center handle until the worm is fully inserted in the cork. As you are turning the handle the lever’s on each side will raise upwards. Then pushing downward on the wing levers the cork will easily lift out of the bottle. (This corkscrew feels very sturdy and because the bottle stays flat on the table).

Ah-So, this is also called the butler’s friend and this is a cork puller as opposed to a corkscrew. It is two flat metal prongs attached to the handle. (This is my least favorite opener, I find it works great, but it takes me forever, I have used it 4-5 times and if I used it more, I am sure I would get better at using it). The prongs are pushed down between the inside of the bottle and the sides of the cork, then the device is pulled and turned at the same time until the cork slides out of the bottle.

Screwpull, This was invented by an engineer named Herbert Allen and this corkscrew is practically infallible and easy to use. You might have seen this advertised at a “Rabbit”. I love mine, I find it to be one of the best things to give as a gift for the wine drinker. The screwpull lever model is a sort of rack and pinion gear mechanism. You place the opener over the bottle, then with one hand you hold the grip to tighten the hold on the bottle and with your other hand you just pull the lever over the opening. Two moves and the bottle is open, it is really effortless and the worm pulls the cork out. Really easy and clean cork removal for most all corks.

Of course there will be corks that will put uo a fight and their will be corks that are damaged or have issues in the bottle, but any or all of this openers will work very well.

I hope this helps you find the perfect opener.

Thanks and Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi