Corkscrews: What Types Are There?

The cork of a wine bottle can be removed in many different ways. The different types of corkscrews differ in handling and price range. The simplest and most common variant is the T-corkscrew. It consists of a handle and a spindle or screw. It is inexpensive but requires quite a lot of effort because there is no leverage when opening the wine bottle.

A classic, especially in gastronomy and among sommeliers, is the so-called waiter’s knife. When unfolded, this type of corkscrew is reminiscent of the simple T variant but has a joint with a lever. The lever is placed on the bottleneck when opening, so less force is required. Models with double levers are recommended for long corks. This allows the corkscrew to be used twice on the neck and the risk of the cork breaking is reduced. Depending on the version, the waiter’s knife is in the simple price range, but sommeliers in particular sometimes have expensive custom-made products.

Wing and scissor corkscrews from the lower to middle price range are suitable for home use. It is easy to use and the wine can be opened without much effort. With the wing corkscrew, place the so-called bell on the bottleneck and turn the spindle into the cork. The two wings on the sides provide leverage when depressing to easily remove the cork. The scissor corkscrew works on a similar principle. The leverage is created by the scissor mechanism, which is reminiscent of a lifting platform.

The advantage of a lever corkscrew, on the other hand, is that it can be used to open a large number of wine bottles in quick succession. It is placed on the neck of the bottle and when the lever is depressed, the spindle automatically rotates into the cork. If you pull the lever, the wine stopper is then removed. The type of corkscrew can be assigned to the middle to upper price range.

It is not always possible to close the wine again with the cork after opening it. The spring tongue corkscrew can be helpful here. It does not have a spindle, but two thin tongues that are guided around the cork into the bottleneck with rocking movements. The cork can be removed under tension – and reinserted according to the reverse principle: The cork then lies between the tongues and is pressed into the bottleneck. The corkscrew is then removed again with rocking movements. The unusual handling is not for everyone, the price of this device is in the middle range.