I'm on the computer waaayy too much, and my wrists are seriously weak as a result. So what's a girl who loves wine to do? I've experimented with plenty of wine openers trying to find one that won't kill my wrists, especially when I run into a bottle with a plastic cork, which is the worst closure anyone could have possibly invented. Please, wineries, just use a screwcap if you can't spring for the real thing. Those of us who don't have the arm strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger in his bodybuilding days thank you.Now I've found a wine opener that's easy on both my wrists and budget: the Penguin Corkscrew. It's kind of a Rabbit knockoff with a sleeker design, and at $50 it's a little spendy, but much preferable to carpel tunnel surgery. You just raise the lever, put the Penguin on the bottle, pull the lever down and then up, and voila, the cork is out in less than five seconds.
I used to work in a fancy restaurant in college where I had to open bottles perfectly with a waiter's corkscrew, but I'm glad those days are over. Now it's all Penguin, all the time. What's your favorite corkscrew, or do you just wish every bottle had a screwcap?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-11-2008 @ 4:26PM
Alex said...
Using non-cork closures is not all about not springing for 'the real thing'.
There are plenty of reasons that wine makers may chose to use non-cork closures - and none of them include consumers' weak wrists. While cost undoubtedly comes into it, you haven't considered that a large part of that cost might include not being prepared to risk a significant proportion of your wine being affected by TCA, rather than the cost of the closure per se.
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10-11-2008 @ 8:25PM
Alex Falk said...
Synthetic corks are one of my favorite inventions.
They seal perfectly, so you have no leakage.
They don't dry out, so your wine stays sealed(see above)
No rotten corks.
And they can be useful to reseal a half drank bottle of wine.
I usually notice no difference between pulling a real and synth cork.
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