Consider the corkscrew. Perhaps no device in the world better illustrates the need for a moment, the kind of thing you forget about until the moment you need it. Armed with a trusty screw driver, the world is your oyster, but without a corkscrew at the crucial moment, you’ll find yourself in real trouble.
Few things in life are more diverse in taste and price than wine, both the everyday drink of the masses and the toy of the rich, the kind of indulgence for which one can spend $20 or $20,000 for a 750 ml bottle. Likewise, wine openers, which range in price and function from the humblest plastic pocket tool to the grandest titanium bartender status symbol. There are electric corks the size of personal massagers, large-bladed corks that look like something you’d pick up at a dentist’s, no-name imports that do a great job, and branded favorites that are surprisingly disappointing. Every bottle of wine gets you drunk, but no two bottles are exactly alike, even from the same producer in the same year; In the same breath, each corkscrew opens a bottle of wine, but no two corkscrews are exactly alike, even if they use the same general style and approach. The two entities are forever twinned, like those couples you know who seem to be made for each other—the cork needs the screw, and vice versa. I find there is something poetic in all of that.
Check out our other drinks instructalike Best bartending tools And Best Non Alcoholic Wine.
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What kind of wine opener should you buy?
Honestly, this depends a lot on what kind of wine you like to drink. For the average wine drinker, it makes sense to spend as little as possible while still looking for a basic level of functionality. The most basic and traditional style of wine opener is called the “waiter style,” and has been used by people in the hospitality industry all over the world for over a hundred years. All of these corks have the same basic parts: a hinge at the top; a screw or screw-on corkscrew that drills into the cork; and a blade that allows you to cut through the foil at the top of the bottle. Open one bottle with this screw-on style, and you’ll be able to open a thousand.
From there, things get more mysterious. Winged corks use the base-and-lever method, but are considerably larger than the waiter’s style and are better suited to home use. A range of electric corks harness technology to do the cork-pulling work for you, often requiring batteries and sometimes even a bulky countertop charging station. Lesser known is the Infinity corkscrew, which uses a simple twist of the wrist to uncork the bottle. There are also highly specialized corks like DurandThis is a new exploration of the fine art of removing vintage wine corks, as well as designer and concept wine openers that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
