Corkscrew

Usage

Wine, port, sherry and vermouth, all of which a cocktail bar goes through steadily. The blade doubles as a foil cutter and a bottle opener sits on the end, which makes it the one tool that handles every sealed bottle behind a bar.

The Waiter’s Friend

A folding body, a small serrated blade, a helix called the worm, and a hinged lever that braces on the bottle lip. It has been the professional standard since the 1880s because it is compact, has nothing to jam, and gives the operator control at every stage.

The critical detail is the second hinge. A single-notch lever pulls the cork out at an angle, which is fine on a young cork and is what snaps a dry one. A double-hinged lever lets you lift in two stages, both of them straight up.

Buy a double-hinged one. The difference in price is a few pounds and the difference in failure rate is enormous.

The Alternatives

Winged corkscrews look easier and are worse. The worm is usually an auger, a solid screw rather than an open helix, which chews through cork instead of gripping it, and the two-arm mechanism gives no feedback about what is happening inside the neck.

Lever pullers and screwpull-type devices work well and cost several times as much; they are genuinely good if arthritis or grip strength is a factor. Ah-so twin-prong pullers are specialist tools for very old corks that would disintegrate on a worm.

Air-pressure openers push a cork out with a needle, which works until the bottle has a flaw and the pressure finds it instead.

Doing It Properly

Cut the foil below the lower lip of the bottle, turning the bottle rather than the blade, so the pour never crosses a cut edge. Wipe the exposed cork.

Set the tip of the worm slightly off-centre, then straighten as it bites so the spiral runs down the middle. Turn until one full curl of the worm is still visible. Going all the way through pushes cork fragments into the wine.

Brace the first notch on the lip and lift, then move to the second notch and lift again. The cork should come out straight and quietly. If it squeaks and resists, you went in at an angle.

When It Breaks

A cork that snaps halfway is usually old and dry. Do not attack the remainder from above: reinsert the worm at a shallow angle from the side, aiming to catch the edge of the fragment against the neck rather than drill through the middle.

If it disintegrates, push it in with the handle end and decant through a fine mesh strainer. Cork in the wine is a nuisance rather than a disaster.

Prevention is storage. Bottles kept upright dry the cork out; on their side, the wine keeps it swollen and elastic, and it comes out in one piece a decade later.

What to Look For

• Double hinge, non-negotiable
• A proper serrated foil knife
• A Teflon-coated or polished worm
• Solid pivot rivets: play in the hinge becomes a bent cork

Professional Tips

• Cut the foil below the lip, not at the top.
• Centre the worm and go in straight. Angled entry tears cork.
• Use the second hinge. That is what stops old corks snapping.
• Stop one turn short of the bottom or you push cork into the wine.

Specifications