I'm a fan of the two prong type as well. First got one during a vinyard tour years ago, think it cost me a buck. And they're great if you run across fragile corks, or if the wife "collects" corks.
I have my own style of humor. I call it Snarkasm.
April 27, 2018, 04:49 PM
bald1
Since StorminNorman said he had to look up how to use the Ah So cork remover, here's a decent YouTube video on how it works.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
April 27, 2018, 05:30 PM
StorminNormin
quote:
Originally posted by bald1: Since StorminNorman said he had to look up how to use the Ah So cork remover, here's a decent YouTube video on how it works.
Ha....exact video I watched. Very interesting device.
NRA Benefactor Life Member
April 27, 2018, 06:58 PM
Blackmore
quote:
Originally posted by StorminNormin:
quote:
Originally posted by bald1: Since StorminNorman said he had to look up how to use the Ah So cork remover, here's a decent YouTube video on how it works.
Ha....exact video I watched. Very interesting device.
I've been using that style for over 20 years. Never failed and never chewed up a weak cork. Mine are also winery tour low dollar purchases.
Harshest Dream, Reality
May 20, 2018, 05:17 PM
Pipe Smoker
quote:
Originally posted by Georgeair: All good advice, especially to stay away from any solid core screw.
Not seen above (unless I missed it) is a style that is much more unusual and seems to baffle folks who have never used an old-school bumper jack, but we use one of these, oh, a couple times per week or more for the last 20 years. Not the same style, the same single device, given to us by my mother circa 1998. It takes just a bottle to get used to, but avoids the more extreme angles and 2-steps of the normal restaurant style screws above and the rocking back and forth. This pulls it straight up and I don't think we've had more than a handful of dry corks break in all that time.
Seriously, folks who drink any more than a couple bottles a decade should give this a try.
We also have one of the Rabbit (?) brand or style clamp-and-pull designs. They work really well, but are a lot more bulky, as opposed to the above that just sits in the silverware drawer.
I bought a Puigpull a month ago, as a result of your recommendation. The Amazon seller said colors would be random. Mine was uncolored SS, except for the black spiral. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it works great. The straight-up pull is an excellent design feature, and the mechanism provides a LOT of leverage.
Several folks here have said that the “ah so” design is better for old dry corks, and I believe it. But the Puigpull opened a 2006 Alexander Valley Silver Oak cab with no problems, and I’m not likely to be opening any wine significantly older than that.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pipe Smoker,
Serious about crackers.
May 20, 2018, 05:28 PM
229DAK
quote:
Originally posted by StorminNormin: Okay, I am getting frustrated that things are not made like they used to! I have gone through several wine cork removers and can’t find one that lasts so I am hoping someone has a recommendation for a type and brand.
I first started with this kind, but it didn’t last long.
I went through a few of these - the cheapy ones. Then I bought a really good quality one. Has lasted me years now.
_________________________________________________________________________ “A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.” -- Mark Twain, 1902
May 20, 2018, 05:47 PM
Balzé Halzé
I use the self pulling type corkscrew. It's pretty effortless and very reliable.
I admit though that I like that double prong style one.
~Alan Acta Non Verba NRA Life Member (Patron) God, Family, Guns, Country
Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan
May 20, 2018, 07:02 PM
Georgeair
quote:
Originally posted by Pipe Smoker] I bought a Puigpull a month ago, as a result of your recommendation. The Amazon seller said colors would be random. Mine was uncolored SS, except for the black spiral. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it works great. The straight-up pull is an excellent design feature, and the mechanism provides a LOT of leverage.
So glad it’s working for you!
You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02
May 20, 2018, 07:18 PM
Angus the Kid
We've had this one for years and it works great and Mrs. Angus goes thru a lot of wine
If the cork is old and crumbly, this one always works. Takes a bit more practice but it always works. The first one is faster and easier for a cork in good condition.
Have used various corkscrews when stuckaway from home or forgot to bring an Ah so. Never use anything but an Ah so when one is available.
Ah so is a little tougher to start when the cork is only halfway in, as when one brings a bottle home from a restaurant. That is easy to avoid though, just drink the whole bottle.
The Vremi Electric Wine Opener Set for $17.99 on Amazon is really hard to beat imho. I mentioned it before but I'll plug it again. We've opened many bottles with it over the last year and it's been flawless. Seriously, I would never go back to a traditional lever or mechanical one. This works 100% perfect every time. I've not seen a single cork get messed up. Plus it sort of looks like a lightsaber when it's charging so if you're a SW fan it's an extra bonus!
May 21, 2018, 07:18 PM
P210
Pulltaps, although unfortunately almost all the ones being offered as genuine are actually knock offs of varying degrees of quality, some being quite good but a lot are junk. Real Pulltaps are generally considered the best bang for the buck out there and are used by many reataurants. I also have a very nice Forge de Laguiole in Snakewood but to be honest the Pulltaps works just as well if not better.
We use the 2-blade types. All the NAPA tasting rooms used them in the early 70s because they're so fast and easy on the corks. Picked one up for a couple of bucks at Mondavi or Beringer and been using it ever since. They will also re-cork as easily as they remove corks. My wife now carries one in her purse and we keep a couple of them in the camper. I'd hate to think how many of them we've given away over the years after people see her use them. They get excited and suddenly it's theirs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "And it's time that particularly, some of our corporations learned, that when you get in bed with government, you're going to get more than a good night's sleep." - Ronald Reagan
May 27, 2018, 09:44 AM
reflex/deflex 64
Been using the Screwpull as shown by Balze above. I'm pretty sure it's over 30 years old, though we're not big wine drinkers, it's never failed and hasn't fallen apart due to simple age.
----------The weather is here I wish you were beautiful----------
May 27, 2018, 09:47 AM
Birdvol
They're now making decent 'screw cap wine'.
Honestly, while we don't buy it exclusively, we buy it often and it's a breeze to open.
May 27, 2018, 09:59 AM
Balzé Halzé
quote:
Originally posted by Birdvol: They're now making decent 'screw cap wine'.
Honestly, while we don't buy it exclusively, we buy it often and it's a breeze to open.
Screw caps are indeed becoming more and more popular among wine makers. Nowadays it would be folly to assume that a bottle of wine with a screw cap is "cheap" or inferior to a corked bottle.
~Alan Acta Non Verba NRA Life Member (Patron) God, Family, Guns, Country
Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan
May 27, 2018, 02:39 PM
joel9507
I have some old desert wines in the collection and sometimes they keep longer than the corks stay together.
Ah-so, and corkscrew types take a lot of skill to try to get soft/crumbly corks out, and even with that sometimes fail.
For troubled corks, I have come to use a pressurized approach, as in "Cork Pops". Cut the foil, put the central needle through, and press on the top to start the pressurizing. As long as the cork seals against the bottle, it'll come out in one piece when the pressure between the wine and the bottom of the cork gets high enough. If the cork is really far gone, you may need to be gentle pushing the central needle through it - otherwise it's pretty foolproof.
You do need to get new pressure cartridges now and then, but they're cheap.
