Unlock the Magic: The Corkscrews That Changed the Game
Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director
Many moons ago, back in early 1979, a chap called Herbert Allan designed a corkscrew that removed the cork in a most unconventional way (the cork climbs up a nonstick coated helix) and without you having to exert any significant amount of effort. It was called the Screwpull Table Model, and we soon started to stock them, because although a bit expensive, I thought that they were brilliant. A few years later he came out with the Lever Model, which was the work of a genius and had a price tag to match, £120. We stocked both the Table Model and the Lever Model, but of the latter only sold a handful. Over time though the price came down to £99 and we found ourselves selling quite good quantities.
Screwpull
In the early 90’s Screwpull was bought by Le Creuset and then one Christmas they decided, in their wisdom to do an offer at £79. I thought that this was odd, because it was selling perfectly well at £99. How wrong I was. I was working in the Cobham shop at the time, and I still clearly remember one customer coming up to the till with 5 in her hands. They were flavour of the month and went like hot cakes that Christmas, and arguably deservedly so.
If you haven’t ever used the Screwpull Lever model, then may I suggest you try. The current price match price is down from £99 to £74.
Like their little brother (Table Model) they have a helix (screw) that is non-stick coated.
 | This makes inserting it into the cork very easy and is done with aid of a long lever pulled towards you.
You then push the lever back and away from you and out pops the cork.
Putting the open bottle to one side you may now repeat the action, and the cork miraculously ejects itself (straight into the bin). |
Very simple, very easy, very clever, Mr Allan.
These smart designs have been refined over the years to make them a little more robust, but the effectiveness and principle remain the same, with the cork climbing a non-stick helix
We stock two models, the LM250 in the original black Plastic Body that retails for £99, which we are currently selling at £74.
And the LM250 in metal, with a chrome satin finish at £175.
And of course, we do the Table Model, that started it all, at £20.80
Actually just to finish this story, back in the late 90’s (by this point I’d had one of the original Lever Models for some years) Michael Sworder, the UK Le Creuset MD at the time, kindly gave me one of their new Elegance models, (very similar to the current metal bodied one) as a present. This I used for many years and only passed it on to my brother (who still uses it) when Michael’s successor, Nick Ryder, gave me their latest LMG10 model (now discontinued) which I’m still using today, although it’s a bit heavy and clumsy by comparison to earlier models.
Given the choice out of all the models that I’ve tried over the years I’d say that the two I like the most are the LM250 models. They are the easiest to use, utterly reliable and when the Helix loses its non-stick coating (Guaranteed to open 2000 bottles) you can buy and fit a new one easily. The patent has long since run out on the design, so lots of people have copied it. And we’ve sold quite a number of those over the years, but I don’t think, in the end, that any of them hold a candle to the Screwpull’s unfailing ability to do the job year in year out.
A truly great product.
Vacu Vin Cork Puller
Ok, now from the sublime to ridiculous. A cork remover.
The two pronged cork puller is a life saver when you have a broken cork, or if you want to show off at a dinner party, with this quirky little corkscrew/remover. It comprises a chrome handle with two spring steel prongs of slightly different lengths (this helps you ease it down the sides of your cork, broken or otherwise, pushing one side / prong in at a time). This, rather surprisingly, grips the side of the cork, and when fully home you twist and simultaneously pull gently upwards. It actually brings the cork happily back to the surface and out of the neck. It’s quite magical really, improbable as it might seem, that two prongs can achieve this.
But take my word for it, it’s BRILLIANT! As is usual with anything you buy from us, try it, dislike it , return it, get your money back.
£9.99 worth of heaven when you have a broken cork!
Le Creuset Sparkling Star and Crown Wine Opener Set
Next, I have the reassuringly expensive Champagne resealer and Champagne Star that helps you remove the cork. I ‘ll confess that I’ve never had to use either of these. Firstly I don’t drink a lot of Champagne or Prosecco, secondly I have enough strength left in my hands to uncork a champagne bottle in a controlled manner and thirdly I’ve yet to have a bottle of either worth resealing afterwards. I have a chum Andrew, who I suspect will disagree with me on this (as he does about decanting champagne….!), but he drinks champagne with great regularity. So, if you want to have ultimate control over the opening process and then to be able to reseal your bottle for later, you may want to consider this set…it is beautifully made and currently on offer at £49.20, down from £60.
Vacu Vin Wine Saver.
Having said that I never need to save Champagne, I do often have a bottle of Saint Emilion that needs preservation, sometimes managing to make it last three nights running. In this case I reseal my bottle with either the Vacu Vin Wine saver or Zwilling’s Fresh and Save electric version.
The Vacu Vin one has, like Screwpull been around for over 30 years. It’s a brilliant product, that we’ve been stocking pretty well ever since. It removes the air from the bottle and so stops the wine oxidising and going off.
Other versions that we sell are the Tala one £5.99, LE Creuset do one at £37.50, and Zwilling an excellent one, that it oh so easy to use, and comes in two parts, Stoppers at £4.95 and Electric Pump at £74.95.
So, some wildly different prices. I’ve not yet tried either the Tala one or the Le Creuset versions, but they are both reputable makes. The Zwilling is frankly an indulgence at getting on for £100 (as I have four stoppers and a pump), but it is incredibly easy to use. And of course, if you use the rest of their food vacuum storage system, then it’s good value, (the cost of the pump is spread over multiple uses) because it’s so easy to use and you can track what you’ve preserved using their App.
Wine chilling Vacu Vin & Le Cresuet
When it comes to wine chilling there are two main contenders.
Vacu Vin Wine Chiller is the original product, again from the 1990’s. It is remarkably quick and very easy to use. If by chance you’ve not come across them before, it’s a sleeve that you keep in the freezer, which fits quite tightly around a bottle of wine, filled with a substance that remains flexible when frozen. So this plastic sleeve is highly effective at chilling a wine bottle, because it moulds itself to the shape of the bottle, imparting its chill very efficiently, through the glass to the wine. Depending on ambient temperature it takes 10 to 15 mins to chill a bottle down, a great deal faster than a fridge or freezer. £14.49.
Le Creuset also do one, which arguably looks better as it has a fabric exterior in a range of six Le Creuset colours. Same principle as the Vacu Vin but at £20.80, a bit more expensive.
I’ve run out of time again, so I’ll just list a couple more products in this area
1. Le Creuset Waiter’s friend corkscrew in metal or wood.
2.Kikkerland Sparrow Wood Corkscrew.
3. Vacu Vin Winged Corkscrew Silver.
4. KitchenCraft Lever Corkscrew Stainless Steel.
That’s about it for this week.
I’ll leave the last word to W.C. Fields.......
"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful weekend.
Warm regards
Andrew
Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director
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