Which Corkscrew Should I Buy?

Whilst one can spend quite a bit on corkscrews we look at four on the affordable end of the range. If you can't be bothered by corks at all there are always screwcaps or even wine in small cans.

But if the wine you want has a cork then on the right we have an old fashioned lever cork puller. Looks a bit clunky but is effective at getting a cork out. In the middle we have two Waiter's Friends. We do not recommend the one on the right as it only pulls the cork halfway out and then you have to grab it to pull the cork right out. If you look closely you will see the Waiter's Friend on the left has a hinged lever on the bit jutting out to the left. This enables one to reset the lever when the cork is halfway out to lever it the rest of the way out. On the left we have our favourite, the Downton Abbey era Butler's Friend. One can even put the cork back in the bottle using this. The left-handed person in our family says that this is the only easy-to-use cork remover.

The Butler’s Friend (also known as the Ah-So cork remover or cork puller) removes any cork without damaging it.  It makes a great alternative to using a corkscrew, especially if the cork is old, crumbling, or even a little broken. It does not work too well on composite corks found in cheaper wines.

This nifty device has two prongs, one longer than the other.  First insert the longer prong between the bottle and cork.  Then continue with the second prong and, rocking the handle slowly side-to-side, slide both prongs down until the top of the gadget touches the cork.  Once both prongs are gripping the cork, use a twisting motion to pull the sturdy handle up and slide the cork from the bottle.  You will find the cork comes out surprisingly easily. This video of halfwine.com's founder Kevin demonstrates the above, and also how you use it to replace the cork: please click here 

The Butler’s Friend is also known as the Butler’s Thief.  The idea is that the dishonest butler can use this tool to carefully remove the cork from a good bottle of wine.  He then replaces the good wine with a cheaper substitute and re-inserts the cork and the Lord of the Manor is none the wiser!  However as all watchers of Downton Abbey will know, the butler is responsible for choosing a good bottle of wine and he uses his Friend to open a bottle from a shipment to test how the wine is progressing and when it will be ready for drinking.

If you want to read an amusing article about all the different types of ways to open a bottle please click How NOT to Open Wine Like an Ah-So.