This Corkscrew Works with Just One Finger

LeCreuset Screwpull Pocket Model

Few things can ruin a nice bottle of wine (say a nice, buttery Chardonnay with great legs) quicker than having to struggle with the cork. The Ms used to swear by her cute little pocket corkscrew – the pocket design that assembles into a T shape and breaks down to something that looks like a short, fat ballpoint pen – but I called it the "cork destroyer" because of its habit of leaving shreds of cork in the bottles. So we compromised: she got to spend twenty-some dollars on a new kitchen toy and I never had to use the cork destroyer again. That was twenty years ago; we're now on our third LeCreuset Screwpull. I guess that means we drink a lot of wine: we wore out two corkscrews!

The Screwpull comprises three pieces: the base sits on the mouth of the bottle, the screw part is centered in the body of the base, and the crank assembles perpendicular to the bottle while connecting to a square "nut" on the head of the screw. To use, you merely hold the base in place and stick a finger through the loop on the end of the crank. No joke: instead of grunting and straining to remove the cork, you can actually crank the cork up out of the bottle using just one finger! The spiral screw, which is some 2½ inches or so in length, has a non-stick Teflon® coating. The sharp point easily pierces corks, and then the screw levers the cork up, up, out of the bottle and into the body of the opener as you spin the crank arm around the top of the bottle. Lift off the opener, reverse the cranking direction, and you can remove the cork from the opener with no damage except a small hole in the top and bottom center. Since one of the Ms's hobbies is making wreaths out of used corks, the Screwpull's gentle treatment of the cork is a definite positive.

Once you've opened your bottle, the Screwpull disassembles into a compact little "kit": the crank section is a hollow tube, which slides into the body of the opener to cover the screw section, protecting it from damage. Thus disassembled, the opener fits into a pocket (it's perhaps 1½ inches in diameter and 3 inches long) or it can be stored in the plastic box in which it's shipped. Screwpulls come in four colors – black, clear, red, and blue. Apparently they also came in green, because that's what color our second is. The opener includes a short knife blade that folds out of the body housing for cutting foil capsules – this feature is, unfortunately, awkward to use, but fortunately is usually unnecessary.

With the increasing use of synthetic corks in recent years, we've found that the Screwpull functions equally well on almost any composition - natural cork, all-plastic cylinders, or those "pseudo-corks" made of foam surrounded by a skin of plastic. Composition appears to make no difference whatsoever to this little guy.

Easy to use, compact and easily portable, gentle on corks, and good for any type of cork - the Screwpull is a definite winner in the corkscrew sweepstakes!

Summary

PLUS: compact, easy to use, doesn't "eat" corks
MINUS: the foil cutter is rather useless; also a tad on the pricey side
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Here's a pocket corkscrew that only takes the strength of one finger to pull the cork - and leaves that cork undamaged to boot.

copyright © 2018 scmrak