I knew there were many types of wine opener, but never got around to really knowing the full list until I decided to write this blog. Here are the many kinds of wine opener that exist, including the common and less common ones.
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Waiter’s corkscrew
A very compact and basic corkscrew that can be folded up to put in your pocket. It’s named so because this is the favorite style of corkscrew used by waiters in those wine serving restaurants.
It comprises of three parts: the foil cutter knife, the screw that you turn into the cork, and the lever that gets the cork out.
Butterfly corkscrew / winged corkscrew
A common wine opener in households. This has a screw within a frame that you put over the bottle. Then as you turn the lever on top for the screw to go in, the two ‘wings’ on both sides will go up, and you press down the wing levers for the cork to come out.
Rabbit wine opener / lever wine opener
The rabbit wine opener is known for its appearance resembling a rabbit’s head. These are rather fancy and can be designed to look really good. It has a clamp that holds the bottle and a lever to get the cork out in one fast movement.
Screwpull wine opener
The Screwpull company, being one of the most renowned companies for wine openers, has designed their own type of wine opener. This looks like a butterfly corkscrew without the wings. All you do is place the wine opener over the bottle (after getting the foil off), then turn the screw round and round until the cork comes out. No pulling or pressing required.
Electric wine opener
When manual wine openers won’t do, electric wine openers can be a nice option with just one press of a button to get the cork out. Handy for those who have no hand strength whatsoever, but more prone to die earlier than manual wine openers.
Ah-so / twin prong cork puller
This is not the traditional corkscrew. It consists of two prongs that are squeezed between the bottle neck and the cork on each side, then you twist for the cork to come out. Mostly used for preserving the cork or for old, crumbling corks, but it’s not easy to use.
CO2 injector / pump wine opener
This is a wine opener with a needle and a pump. Insert the needle through the cork into the space between wine and cork, then CO2 is pumped through to lever the cork out with the pressure.
If you ask me, I don’t mind which type the wine opener is, as long as it is easy to use, gets the corks out nicely, and lasts me long enough for money’s worth. If you want to know more about how to choose the best wine opener, click here.
