Wine is a truly wonderful thing.
What is not a wonderful thing, however, is how tricky it can be to get into the stuff sometimes! That’s why no wine bar is complete without a trusty wine opener. But with so many choices on the market, it can be a challenge to make sure you’re getting the right tool for your needs.
Here, learn more about the different types of wine openers available to decide which kind is right for you.
Keep it simple with a waiter’s corkscrew.
This is your standard, traditional corkscrew wine opener that can be found in almost everybody’s kitchen drawer. A waiter’s corkscrew – roughly the size of a folding pocketknife – is so named because the tool is small enough to fit in a pocket, and is therefore easy to always have at the ready. This handheld manual corkscrew is considered the oldest, most trusted way to open bottles of vino.
Get modern with automatic openers.
Of all the types of wine openers, automatic openers might be the most fun to use. These are also a great choice for anyone suffering from arthritis or other conditions that may make opening a bottle of wine in the traditional manner difficult. These slim, often cylinder-shaped appliances are available in corded or cordless versions. The corded versions plug into the wall, and the cordless openers rest on a charging base when not in use. They do the whole job for you, including breaking the seal, with push-button ease of use.
Air pressure openers are a gas.
Also a fun way to open wine, air pressure openers pierce the cork with a needle and then use CO2 cartridges to blast that baby open – safely, of course. Of all the types of wine openers, this may be the most efficient when hosting a large event where many bottles of wine will need to be opened rather quickly, as a simple poke-and-pop is all the time and effort that is required of the person using it.
Ah-so openers...so unique.
This style of wine opener is made up of two slim blades and a handle for gripping. The user slips the blades in the neck of the bottle so that they are on either side of the cork, then wiggles the cork back and forth to loosen it and pop it out. The ah-so wine opener can be a bit tricky, but gives you a more hands-on experience. Perhaps use it for a romantic dinner-for-two and save the whir of the electronic openers for your next big party!
