June 08, 2023, 08:42 AM
Pipe SmokerI Need a Good Wine Cork Remover
quote:Originally posted by 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.
Puigpull Corkscrew
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 excellent corkscrew deserves a bump. I’ve had mine for five years and it still works as good as new. It’s as compact as any “waiter’s friend” corkscrew, but works better for two reasons:
1. The cork is pulled straight up, rather than at an angle.
2. Its “bumper jack” design provides a LOT of mechanical advantage to easily extract the most stubborn corks.
Its foil cutter isn’t all that great, but no matter – everyone here carries a pocket knife.
