OXO Vertical Lever Corkscrew with Removable Foil Cutter, Steel, Silver, 18.7 x 18.7 x 6.1 cm

Product Information

For wine enthusiasts, it’s a great way to do comparative tastings or enjoy just a taste of a specific wine without committing to a full bottle. While the initial price is hefty, note that it allows you to work through more special bottles without opening the full thing. (Though, the cost of refilling canisters can get pricey.) If your wine-drinking situations are more everyday and straightforward, then this expensive product isn't for you. 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. 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.

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. While electric wine openers aren’t necessarily a go-to for serious oenophiles, they do have their moments, especially for those who might otherwise struggle to remove a cork. Electric wine openers are also perfect for anyone who just isn’t comfortable with a wine key, lever system, winged corkscrew, or other manual tool. Plus, they're fast, easy, rechargeable (if not battery-powered), and often come with a display base and an accessory or two. Richard Vayda, Director of Wine Studies at the Institute of Culinary Education, is particularly fond of the waiter's corkscrew. “As you learn right away as a wine steward, these corkscrews are easily portable and generally very reliable openers.” He adds, "Unlike many other openers, they also sport a knife to cut the capsule on the bottle and usually a crown bottle opener for those moments where you must have a beer.”While pros love it, it does require a bit of a learning curve. Consider testing out a Durand with low-stakes bottles to get the hang of it (and read the instructions carefully, too). Wine collectors with high-end cellars swear by this corkscrew. The compact cork (cute!) carrying case helps protect the legs from bending or snapping. It's definitely not the least expensive option among this selection, but if you have an extensive wine cellar and don't ever want to gamble on breaking a cork, this is the go-to special tool. HiCoup Wine Bottle Opener and Barvivo Professional Waiters Corkscrew: The HiCoup and Barvivo look identical, and might come from the same factory. While handsome, with a hefty weight, they have the same flaw: It’s really easy to push the upper fulcrum into the cork, gouging the cork as it lifts out of the wine bottle.

There are countless varieties of wine opening tools, with widely different designs and functionality. Which one you choose comes down to how much wine you drink (and thus how often you’re likely to use it), how comfortable and experienced you are with opening bottles and how easy it is to store. There are good options for any budget regardless of which type of opener you use. 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. Laguiole Waiter's Corkscrew: The single-lever Laguiole works about as well as the design allows, but it’s slower than a double-fulcrum version of the waiter’s-friend corkscrew. Our frontrunners required little to no setup prior to use, and each model included additional helpful tools to aid with the opening process, like foil cutters or replacement corkscrews.

The best corkscrews to buy from £6

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.