Top 10s The top 10 corkscrews

Date Published:

20/08/2008

Whether you pucker up for pinot or shoot a smooth shiraz, you'll need a tool to liberate your vino. Charlie Cottrell toasts these corkers

Doesn't suck

£12.99, suck.uk
Pleasingly portable with no jaggy, pocket ruining ends and looks a bit like an old-fashioned policeman's whistle. You'll need good upper arm strength to budge the cork with this one, though, so pull it out if you want to impress the ladies.
Would suit: Mr Motivator
Wouldn't suit: Mr Burns

Top brass

£95, essentiallywine.com
There's a touch of the Wild West about this wine opener; maybe it's the old-timer bronze finish, maybe it's the quick-draw action. If they'd gone for a nice pinot grigio over liver-pickling Firewater back in Tombstone, they'd have had a go on this.
Would suit: The Sundance kid
Wouldn't suit: The Milky Bar kid

Batteries not included

£ 19.99, thanksdarling.com
Can't be arsed to expend the 3 calories it takes to whip out a cork? Simply place this cordless electric corkscrew on the top of the bottle, press a button and out pops the cork. You'll need to dig out 6 AA batteries first, though. Bizarrely, it comes with cheese grater and pepper grinder attachments.
Would suit: Lazy boozers
Wouldn't suit: Eco-freaks

Feel the steel

£125, essentiallywine.com
Prepare to have your tiny mind baffled by the ingenious design of this hellish looking contraption. Turning the handle in the same direction somehow both inserts and removes the corkscrew. No need to call the witch-finder general, though - the logic-defying manoeuvre is based on the interplay of two helical shafts. But you knew that.
Would suit: David Blaine
Wouldn't suit: David Beckham

Polly want a Cava?

£24, alessi.com
Those guys over at Alessi know how to have fun, don't they? They've only gone and realised that a waiter's friend corkscrew looks a bit like a parrot. Oh you crazy kids. Look, the beak is a bottle opener. How do they get any work done?
Would suit: Waiters at Club Tropicana
Wouldn't suit: Waiters at the Athenaeum

Costly corkage

From £36,000, sveid.com
Reassuring to see that this offering starts at £36k, meaning, if you want to, you can treat yourself to a corkscrew that costs as much as a spanking new BMW convertible. For your money you get 'aviation titanium', an 18k gold 'fingertip lever' and a big fancy box built from the wood of your choice. Sold.
Would suit: Bored billionaires
Wouldn't suit: Anyone else

Man tool

£75, BuiltNY.com
If there's a corkscrew with a manlier name, we want to see it. So butch it should have a moustache, the Magnum sounds exciting, looks exciting and comes complete with ratcheting handle, interchangeable screwbits and an inbuilt foil hook. Grrr.
Would suit: Russell Crowe
Wouldn't suit: Russell Brand

The daddy

£78, screwpull.co.uk
If you ever needed an excuse to open another bottle of wine, this tool gives you one. There's no grunting or yanking here; the cork lifts out easily and its over-and-out motion is so satisfying you'll be begging for bottles. So confident in its superiority, it comes with its own plinth.
Would suit: People hosting big social gatherings
Wouldn't suit: People with tiny kitchens

Hello handsome

£99.95, wineware.co.uk
Each Laguiole tool is hand-crafted and bears the stamped signature of its cutlers - a bit like a graffiti artist's tag only much, much posher. Throw some luxury wood and semi-precious stones into the mix and get ready to go 'ooooh'. Who knew a corkscrew could be so sexy?
Would suit: James Bond
Wouldn't suit: James Blunt

Choose your weapon

£115, wineware.co.uk
If you're in a hurry to crack open the fizz, you'll need a sword. Sure, you might come across as a maniac and there's a chance you'll lose a finger, but you'll feel like a legend. The idea is to slice off the top of the bottle, leaving the cork, and your guests' heads, in place. You can practise your technique with Gordon Ramsay's guide to sabrage. Top fun.
Would suit: Henry VIII
Wouldn't suit: Anne Boleyn

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