Holiday Gift Ideas – Wine Openers

Posted byBrandyPosted inWine Basics

Giving gifts can be stressful. Hopefully this provides you with a few options of openers for your friends, family, and maybe for yourself. Some version of opener is essential to have on hand for all wine lovers. Unfortunately, they can break, or get lost so it is a good idea to have more than one available. This post is a review of several different types of openers that can be found. There are affiliate links here so if there is something that you find appealing and you make a purchase using my link I might make a little money on the sale. However, the information is completely my own opinion on the use of each opener.

A corkscrew is essential for your wine loving friends. They probably already have one, but it is always nice to have a few on hand.

Budget pick at $12.50 – Vintorio Professional Waiters Corkscrew – Wine Key with Ergonomic Rubber Grip This is a great affordable gift option. It has an ergonomic grip. It has a two stage hinge opener that should work with all wine bottles. The two stage allows you to get better leverage when opening the bottle. It has a foil cutter. The corkscrew itself is non-stick which helps it pierce the cork. This is an all around great option that everyone should have on hand.

Upgrade pick at $99.95 – Laguiole L’eclair French Handmade Waiter’s Corkscrew (Birchwood) This corkscrew works just like any other corkscrew so it is a splurge. It has a nice weight to it and it feel great in your hand. The wood on the handle is beautiful. They can be a bit stiff to open, but that comes in handy when using it to open a bottle of wine.

Winged Corkscrew pick currently at $8.99, and normally $18.95 – Hanee Rose Gold Wing Corkscrew Wine Opener This winged corkscrew is really heavy duty. You should cut the top of the foil off of the bottle before using this opener. Then you put the corkscrew on the bottle. Turn the crank until the corkscrew is as far down as it goes. Then simultaneously press both wings of the opener down to remove the cork from the bottle.

Electric pick currently at $31.90, and normally $39.99 – Brookstone Automatic Wine Opener This electric opener is really easy to use. I received on as a gift a couple of years ago and it has become my go to opener. The stand at the bottom is a foil cutter. Then you just put the opener over your bottle of wine, hold the bottle firmly, and hold down the button. The cork will be removed from the bottle and is pulled up into the opener. This is a great option for your loved ones that may have carpal tunnel, or some other wrist injury. NOTE: If you have very old bottles with compromised corks this is not the best opener. In that situation you need to use a manual opener such as the Ah So that can be found below that can be used a little more delicately.

The Rabbit Style Pick at $34.95 – VINABON Wine Opener Set The rabbit style opener is really easy to use. You should remove the foil from the bottle before using this opener. Once the foil is off you just put the opener over the bottle, squeeze the ears, and push the lever down to remove the cork. Now release the ears to remove the opener from the bottle. You can then squeeze the ears and push the lever down again to remove the cork from the opener. This kit comes with a foil cutter and some other items including a replacement corkscrew. This type of opener is known to have the corkscrew break from time to time so having a replacement on hand is really nice. I do like that it comes packaged in a nice box and would be really easy to gift wrap.

The Ah So at $21.99 – Monopol Westmark Germany Steel Two-Prong Cork Puller with Cover (Silver Satin) The Ah So is my least favorite type of opener, but there is one circumstance where it is essential. That is when you are trying to open older vintage wines. By older I mean a vintage of about 10 years or older. (It is currently 2019, so this would be a good thing to use on wines that have a vintage date of 2009, or older.) This is because it helps keep older corks in tact when they are being removed. As corks age they become brittle and corkscrews tend to break off the top 1/2 of a brittle cork leaving the bottom half of the cork still in the neck of the bottle. If you go back in with a corkscrew to remove the rest of the cork you can end up with bits of cork in the wine. The Ah So slips in between the bottle and the cork and squeezes the cork. You can then rotate the Ah So to loosen the cork from the bottle. Then pull it out to remove the cork. It takes some practice to use an Ah So, but it is much nicer to go through the effort so you can avoid getting cork debris in your older vintage wines. You can either just use an Ah So if you know you are opening a bottle of wine that could have a problematic cork, or it can be used to retrieve the portion of the cork that is left after trying to open a bottle with another opener. (I have no idea where the name Ah So came from, and I do think it is a bit odd, but it is what it is.)

Any of the options above would be great gifts for the wine lovers in your life. They probably already have at least one opener, but it is nice to have different options available.

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