Vacu Vin Winemaster vs. Rabbit Corkscrew

[mbenham]

I would like to buy a corkscrew as a gift and I have about $60 to spend. It's for a friend who is kind of clumsy and won't have patience for a hard-to-work gadget. The Vacu Vin looks quite large, but maybe it's easier to use than the Rabbit. Any thoughts or experiences?

[winoweenie]

Hi mbenham and welcome to the board. My puller of cherce, has, is, and always will be the s Screwpull. Does old and new corks with ease. WW

[Thomas]

I like the waiter's corkscrew, the new ones that come with a double, spring-action "key" and a serated (sp) knife.

You cut the capsule with the knife and then put the screw in as near the center of the cork as possible and turn--clockwise--until you reach near the bottom of the screw; then rest the top portion of the double key on the bottle's lip and gently pull the cork until it will not come up any more; release the key and bend it so that the bottom portion of it is on the bottle's lip; then pull again; the cork slides out with incomparable ease.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 07-20-2001).]

[lizardbrains]

foodie,
I didn't realize the thoroughness of the waiter's corkscrew! That is my favorite corkscrew too - since it's simple, plus I was trained with it when I was a waitress in France a while back! I was 19 at the time (under age), so I had NEVER opened a wine bottle. They taught me how to open it well enough, but they didn't tell me that when I couldn't pull anymore, to pull it up and stick that double-key inside the lip and pull again - that would've saved me a bit of headache! I'm really happy to hear your advice!!!! :-)

[newsguy]

i must second the weener's championing of the Screwpull. i finally bought one last night ($19.99 including accompanying foil cutter) and used it as soon as i got home. i was more than impressed by the quality feel of the product and the amazing ease with which it lifted the cork from the bottle. it seemed like that sucker was greased, it slid out so nicely. and this couldn't be simpler to use.

LONG LIVE THE SCREWPULL!

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 07-31-2001).]

[Innkeeper]

Still use my basic edition Screwpull alternately with my plain ole Waiter's Pal.

[Thomas]

$19.95 for the Screwpull! Geez, I fondly remember when I could get a good one for $5 or $6.

[winoweenie]

Where the Screwpull really shines are on older bottles with fragile corks. The waiter either breaks them or shoves them to the bottom of the neck. They slid out like magic wif the lil' darlin'. 5 or 6 bucks Food-i-poo? Never seen the Screwpull for under 14.95. WW

[mrdutton]

Check out the waiter's friend made by Pulltaps. Nice ergonomic shape fits the hand, a serrated blade for cutting the capsule and a teflon coated screw.

Very nice. They run from around $9.49 up to about $29.00 for the fancy ones.

I have the fancy Screwpull, the one that goes for a hunnert and change and when I went down to Florida last March I forgot to bring it with me. I stopped in at B-21 Liquors and Wine Shop and they had the Pulltaps.

Since buying that little sucker, I've all but quit using the Screwpull.

The Pulltaps is a very nice corkscrew, IMHO.

[winoweenie]

What is simpler than setting the bottle on the bar ,placing the hand on the level, making one pull, then one push? WW ( And it works ebbertime.)

[Thomas]

WW, perhaps I am mistaken about which corkscrew you refer to when you say Screwpull. The one I remember had a worm in the middle and two plastic wings that one grips. You turn the worm in and cup the plastic wings. As the worm goes in, the cork supposedly comes up. When this thing came out it was about $5; to be sure, it was all the way back in the seventies.

Please describe the one you are talking about.

[winoweenie]

The lever model is 125 and has the teflon worm, a lever pull and the 2 outside fit-over units that fit up to magnums. Push-pull, click-click, pull corks that quick.WW

[Thomas]

Aha! There is a counter-attached version of that corkscrew. It has been known to rip corks apart, but only infrequently.

I still prefer the waiter's type. I figure that if we are going to invoke tradition every time some of us say let's go to screw caps, we should then keep the tradition of grunting, groaning and pulling...the cork, that is.

[winoweenie]

Foodie, this is NOT a counter model but a hand held model with the lever action. I have opened everything from 1928 ports to 99 Bogle merlots and have never even come close to losing or breaking a cork. Even works great on old bordeaux with corks soaked to the top. If a screwpull broke a cork then I suspect either the screw was bent ( which happens if you don't hold the bottle firmly ) or if it was a couter-mounted product, it was ,mounted incorrectly. WW

[mrdutton]

Well I don't have WW's selection, but I can tell you for sure that my hand held screwpull never, ever, broke a cork.

But then I've only ever broken one cork when I used that neat little waiter's helper from Pulltaps....

[Thomas]

Now, what is a Pulltaps?

Incidentally, I have never, ever, ever had a synthetic stopper break on me, under any corkscrew circumstance. I did, however, have two corkscrews ruined by a recalcitrant synthetic stopper that refuses to be moved out of that bottle of King Estate Vin Gris--one of the screws is still in the stopper after it snapped right out of my hand.

[winoweenie]

I hate the dad-burned synthetics. If I have a bottle with the new & Improved stopper, I pull out my trusty Ah-So so as not to break the Screw in my Screw-Pull. WW

[Innkeeper]

When I opened the Burgess Zin last night, forgot about what was under the capsule. As soon as the Waiters Pal took the capsule off, and the syn cork appeared, I reached for the Screwpull. It never fails on them so & sos. Bring on the microwaved real corks.

[barnesy]

Its all the Oak they put in them King Estate wines....It done snapped your screw off.

Barnesy

[Thomas]

This one is the exception, regarding oak...at least I think so; I haven't gotten to it.