Subscribe by Email
Subscribe in RSS
Pages
Archives
My Twitter
FlickR
Meta
Buttons
Leaving the Lever Corkscrew
May 14th, 2008
Breaking up is hard to do. Especially after a healthy relationship that involved opening bottles of wine, with great ease. But something in the air, just feels different. I’m talking, of course, about my recent subconscious decision to switch from a lever style corkscrew back to a waiter’s style.
It wasn’t intentional. I’ve just noticed that lately I’ve been reaching for my Laguiole waiter’s style instead of my old Quicksilver. I started with a plastic waiter, upgraded to the Concorde then the Quicksilver and recently have gone old-fashioned again after finding a beautiful Laguiole hidden in my drawer.
A lever style corkscrew gives you, for lack of a better term, more leverage, when pulling up difficult corks like those made of synthetic material. Certain bottles require more strength to open and a lever style corkscrew provides that. A lever style corkscrew can make opening difficult bottles, effortless. But when opening a classic bottle with some age, or something a little more special, I seem to be opting for the waiter’s style. There is something romantic about using a waiter’s style corkscrew that’s unparalleled. And the beautiful wood and elegant silver of a Laguiole is the icing on the cake.
So I’m sorry to say this Lever, but I’ve moved on.
Do you feel the same? Which is your favorite style of corkscrew and why?
Filed under Wine Accessories |9 Responses to “Leaving the Lever Corkscrew”
Leave a Reply
Personally, I’ve never been partial to the lever style. To me, the difference between a lever and a waiter style corkscrew is like the difference between a one night stand and a longterm relationship. One, you enjoy a quick fling without any additional effort on your part, while the other requires, time, energy and full on commitment. Maybe I’m romantic, but I like feeling, the ritual and the extra attention required when using a waiter’s corkscrew.
I’ve always preferred a waiter’s corkscrew. Something about the elegant design, the way it fits in your hand. I have a lot of different ones and don’t prefer one over the other.
@Gabriella I agree! And I like that extension of the analogy
That post almost reads like a Swiffer commercial, “dump your old way of cleaning.” Anyway, the waiter’s corkscrew is definately the way to go. I can’t imagine using anything else. I’ll often take an inexpensive one with me to parties to leave behind when the host has nothing better than a wing corkscrew (obviously I’m going to a lot of parties hosted by non-aficionados of wine).
That Laguiole waiter’s style corkscrew is significantly more expensive though. But it is gorgeous and quite handy so I guess its worth it…
It’s gotta be the waiter’s corkscrew. The levers are fast, but the waiter’s corkscrew just gives you the control you need for the occasional difficult cork. And hey - if the wine had to wait years to be ready to drink, why rush those last few milliseconds? There’s something great about the ritual.
I have a Laguiole, which is easily the prettiest of the waiter’s style corkscrews, but have recently been preferring the Winner for ease of use (I tried about a dozen different ones when testing potential Able Grape tchotchkes). It’s a really great design. The inexpensive plastic “Winner” is a little ugly but works well. There are also metal ones that look pretty swank and have a solid heft to them, but they’re a tad pricy (still far from Laguiolesville pricewise, though).
I’ll never give up my simple waiter’s corkscrew. Ten bucks several years ago, it has opened hundreds of bottles of wine, cork (or stopper) intact every time.
I’ve learned to slip a waiter’s friend into my pocket when I visit a house and bring wine. My last unpleasant experience was when we arrived at a Thanksgiving party with two bottles and the hosts were not wine drinkers. They did have one of those wiz-bang cork pullers with gears and cogs. It managed to push the cork into the bottle.
For me, I’ll never part with Old Reliable. In over 23 years, it has never let me down once.
Old reliable is a heavy helix and graces many of our photos. http://smellslikegrape.blogspot.com/2007/12/old-reliable-and-sonoma-valley-syrah.html