A short course in wine openers

The earliest corkscrew dates back several centuries when corks were first used as bottle-stoppers. The basic corkscrew is a spiral wire (called a "worm") with a handle attached. The worm is turned into the cork, which is removed by pulling the handle up. The drawback of the basic corkscrew is that it provides no leverage. The cork must be pulled out by brute force, often with great difficulty. Subsequently mankind's ingenuity went to work improving on the basic corkscrew. In the U.S. alone hundreds of corkscrew patents were filed in the 19th century. (At the time corks were used as stoppers in bottles of whiskey, olive oil and other liquids as well as wine.) By 1900 three effective designs had emerged that still account for the great majority of corkscrews in use today.

The Bartender's Corkscrew: This design uses a fulcrum that engages the top edge of the wine bottle, to give leverage to the handle when pulling the cork. It's called the bartender's or waiter's corkscrew because it can be folded and carried in the pocket. It requires a sure hand and a lot of practice, however, to master its use. (For a pocket corkscrew that's easy to use, see Metrokane's Pocket Velvet Corkscrew on the Wine Tools & Glasses page.)

The Wing Corkscrew: This type is so-called because the handles on each side rise like wings when the worm is turned into the cork. After full insertion, the handles are pulled down to leverage the cork out. While a wing-type cork-screw will work well enough on some corks, its design requires a thick, augur-like metal worm, which can crumble or even destroy a fragile cork. Metrokane has overcome this problem with the revolutionary Wing Machine, a corkscrew with a gear shift. For details return to the Wine Tools & Glasses page.

The Self-Pulling Corkscrew: More than a century old, this design consists of a basic corkscrew fitted into a guide. After the worm has been inserted into the cork, the user continues turning in the same direction, and the "stop" action of the guide forces the cork to pull itself out. (Thus "self-pulling"). With a metal worm, the friction between the cork and worm make the self-pulling action difficult for most corks, impossible for tight ones. It was not until 1978 that this problem was surmounted by Herbert Allen, a Texan oil expert who applied his drilling knowhow to the self-pulling corkscrew. By using a Teflon coating on the worm, Allen reduced the friction between cork and worm so dramatically that the self-pulling action became almost effortless. His new corkscrew design was soon recognized as the most effective device yet for pulling a cork. Scroll down wine tools page to see Metrokane's Velvet Corkscrew, an elegant self-pulling design named for its soft-as-velvet finish.

The ultimate cork-pulling machine--The Rabbit™ Corkscrew: The original device of this type was invented by the same man, Herbert Allen, who perfected the self-pulling corkscrew. Metrokane applied similar mechanical principles to develop the Rabbit Corkscrew, which was introduced in 2000. The Rabbit has two gripping handles that latch onto the top of a wine bottle and a top handle that drives the corkscrew into the cork and pops it out in three seconds flat. With another quick movement of the top handle the cork is ejected from the corkscrew. The Rabbit is comprised of 31 separate parts assembled into a powerful, high-tech tool. Its ergonomic design and velvet feel make it a pleasure to operate. For more about the Rabbit Corkscrew return to the Wine Tools & Glasses page.