OXO Corkscrew

Product Information

It's not the most comfortable to hold, but the Truetap Double-Hinged Corkscrew removes corks smoothly and effectively. It comes in many different colors so you can find one that fits your personal style. The Truetap corkscrew is metal all around. It's slim and light, with a thinner grip than the Le Creuset corkscrew. Because of this design, I found it less comfortable to hold as I removed the cork. I also had trouble pulling out the foil cutter, which was frustrating. As someone who drinks wine very regularly, I've tried many different types and versions of corkscrews. While the rabbit and wing styles are easy, they are, in my opinion, way too bulky to store and carry to be worth buying. Instead of completely removing the cork, the Coravin wine system is outfitted with a Teflon-coated wine needle that sails through the cork and allows you to remove a glass of wine at a time (without airing out the whole bottle). “The system helps me cherish special bottles of wine for a really long time, seeing how they change and evolve," says Acheson.

Electric wine openers take the guesswork out of opening a nicer bottle of wine. If you’re a collector or you’re gifting a wine collector, a more expensive yet reliable electric wine opener is the best option. While electric openers require a charge, a simple press of a button is all that’s required physically to uncork a nicer bottle you’ve been saving. As the Ozeri owner’s manual indicates, all you need to do is position the opener directly above the bottle to make sure it’s centered on the cork. From there all we had to do was hit the LED-lit blue “down” button to activate the opening process and let this electric wine opener do its thing.During our extensive real-world tests, we evaluated the form, function, durability of components, and features of a total of 13 manual and electric corkscrews, including winged and lever-style models. Our testing process included opening bottles of wine by cutting the foil, uncorking, and removing the cork. Our selections are based on the following metrics: ease of use, comfort, performance, and value. Electric corkscrew: As the name suggests, these wine openers are powered entirely by electricity, so are no effort at all to use. All they require is to align your bottle properly before pressing a button and voila, drinks for everyone. They are pricier than the others and will require charging, so you have to be prepared and are far less transportable than other options.

Fold the opener down and place the lower of the double-jointed metal arms on the edge of the bottle. Use that leverage to get the cork about halfway out of the bottle. Comfort: Some wine opener designs require more hand strength and dexterity, while others — like electric openers — are more ergonomic and can do all the work for you. Your physical abilities and preferences can help you narrow your search. Being a chef who often cooks with wine, I’ve tried and fumbled with many wine openers and preservation systems,” says Hugh Acheson, the owner of Five and Ten and a judge on "Top Chef." “But Coravin is different—it is easy to use, preserves perfectly, and pours perfectly." The most unique feature is the built-in, removable foil cutter. You place it on top of the bottle and twist to pierce the foil. It reattaches to the base of the corkscrew when you want to store it. Foil cutters are nice to have but not strictly necessary, so we like that it's not an extra accessory you have to hunt for. When I finally wore down my favorite, just a simple hinged waiter's corkscrew, I decided to get this OXO version. We like OXO here in my house and own plenty of their gadgets.Kate Dingwall is an experienced spirits and wine writer. She has been writing about the bar and spirits world for five years. Outside of writing, she is a working sommelier with her WSET-III. She grew up in wine country and has a bottle collection her partner thinks is excessive. To test these openers, she put them to the test during wine service at one of Canada’s top restaurants. She judged them on the sharpness of the foil knife, the flexibility of the opener, the quality of the worm, and, overall, how seamlessly they opened bottles. Featuring stainless steel construction and a comfortable, textured grip, the Rabbit Vertical Lever Corkscrew makes removing corks easy with a single pulling motion. Corkscrews come in a wide variety of types with a lot of different styles and features, so have a read of our buying guide to find out which kind is best for you. With our help, you’ll be prepared for whatever bottle you might come across. The best corkscrews: At a glance Continuous pull corkscrew: This is very similar to the winged corkscrew in terms of the method of opening, which involves puncturing the cork and twisting. The only difference is that they don’t have wings, so they tend to have a sleeker design. Good for a robust and more ergonomic option.

Electric opener: A wine opener that's usually rechargeable. It inserts the screw and removes the cork for you. Typically, it's operated with simple up and down buttons. Such is the case with the top-rated Secura electric wine opener, a stainless-steel device that comes with a charging base and a great foil cutter, which is always great to have on hand no matter what kind of corkscrew you’re using. This model can remove up to 30 corks on one full charge (perfect for events), and the built-in LED light helps immensely with visibility—though the device is designed to guide the worm in nice and straight without extra effort on the user’s part. Who is it for? People who have difficulty with twisting motions, but are also concerned about their environmental impact.

Our top picks for the best wine openers

Overall, the Coravin Timeless Three is a great investment for those who are very, very serious about their wine. Center the squiqqly metal part (sometimes called the “worm”) atop the cork, and then screw it in until it’s about 3/4 of the way inside the cork. There’s a misconception that the more expensive, gadgety corkscrews are easier and better, but that’s rarely the case for me," says Goddu. "Use whatever’s easiest for you, but for me, that’s my trusty wine key.” There isn't an easy answer to this per se, but you're more likely to find corks in older vintages of wine. But that being said, just because a wine has a screw cap, it doesn't mean it's poor quality and that you should steer clear of purchasing it. There are plenty of great wines being made with screw caps. Lever-style corkscrews are another smart alternative to traditional wine keys for wine drinkers who just prefer an easier means of opening a bottle of wine. This type of tool is generally made up of two long clamps that secure around the base of a bottle’s mouth, with the corkscrew attached to a single lever that drives the screw downward into the cork at the ideal angle.

EDIT: I have successfully used a file to shave down about 2mm of the pointed edges of the first rest that tore up the cork. So that now works well (although the metal is slightly shinier now...). HOWEVER.... Francis Kulaga, Certified Sommelier and General Manager & Beverage Director at Birch & Rye in San Francisco, says the most classic corkscrew options are the waiter’s friend style, an ‘ah-so’ two-prong corkscrew, and the Durand, which is a brand that has conveniently combined the two styles into one. Each of these three styles is manual but simple enough to use with some practice. For those looking for something more effortless, an electric corkscrew is a better choice — and for that, look to the Secura Stainless Steel Electric Wine Opener. Some models include additional bells and whistles like foil cutters, pour spouts, vacuum stoppers and advanced wine preservation systems. In the manual wine corkscrew category, for example, there are single-lever as well as double-lever models, the latter commonly referred to as the classic waiter’s friend. As rechargeable batteries have made their way into tools in every category, the electric wine opener has become much more popular in recent years, with brands like Oster and Ozeri introducing more luxe models, which include charging stations, easy-to-read LED buttons and cordless functionality.

The best corkscrews to buy from £6

Slim in profile and easier to transport, the Le Creuset Waiter’s Friend certainly does the job, but we found the OXO model to work just a bit more efficiently and comfortably. Lever corkscrew: Simply push down and pull up with this wine opener. It requires a bit of arm strength, but the two-motion mechanism is attractive to those who want a seamless experience. Ah-So opener: A wine opener with one long prong and one shorter prong. It's used to remove delicate or old corks. To use it, wiggle the long prong in between the cork and bottle. Then wiggle the shorter prong in, and twist the handle slowly to remove the cork.