Wine Bottle Openers

If the corkscrew's reign is over, these are the potential heirs to its throne

They may never have the cultural cache of the traditional cork and corkscrew, but a time is likely coming when wine bottle openers and screw caps will be the primary tools for opening and sealing wine bottles. Traditionalists and wine purists argue that there isn't yet sufficient proof that wines age the same way without natural corks. Yet about 10% of the world's wines suffer from cork taint and cork-related oxidation, a problem that cork alternatives and modern wine bottle openers could eliminate.

Screwcaps

Some wine bottle sealing innovations in use today could obviate the need for corkscrews and wine bottle openers altogether. One such device is the ubiquitous screwcap.

Screwcaps do have their partisans. The obvious ease of opening and resealing is a selling point, as is the elimination of corked bottles. That kitchens and restaurants would no longer have to stock wine bottle openers is another plus.

However, many oenophiles are bitterly opposed to screwcaps. The screwcap's low-rent association with carbonated beverages undoubtedly would diminish the elitist appeal of wine. There is also the legitimate objection that the effects of screwcaps on wine's long term aging have not been sufficiently measured.

Similar advances to screwcaps are in the works, including a soft resealable wine bottle cap known as a Zork that should be reaching the U.S. soon. But at least for now, we're still generally stuck with wine bottle openers.

Synthetic corks

Caps are not the only threat to traditional corking methods. Synthetic corks have caught on as a similar yet cheaper alternative to corks without the corking problems. Nearly 10% of the world's wines are now sealed with synthetic corks.

Synthetic corks have a more consistent surface than natural cork, eliminating density issues that can lead to random oxidation. As for wine bottle openers and synthetic corks, they have little impact on the corkscrew versus wine bottle opener debate.

Corkscrew alternatives

Apart from all these cork and screwcap related issues, there is a growing movement to replace corkscrews with wine bottle openers that are faster and easier to use.

The following are just some of the numerous types of wine bottle openers that are threatening the corkscrew's dominance:

CorkPops wine bottle openers

CorkPops wine bottle openers use cartridges with a compressed propellant to literally pop corks out of their wine bottles. A long needle is inserted through the cork, and then a few quick taps on the top of the wine bottle opener is all it takes to finish the job. The downside of this particular wine bottle opener: the cartridge needs to be replaced after opening sixty to eighty wine bottles.

Electric wine bottle openers

Press button technology meets the corkscrew with electric wine bottle openers. Electric wine bottle openers do all the work for you, removing corks in seconds. Electric wine bottle openers run on rechargeable batteries, and typically can open twenty bottles of wine or more when fully charged. Deni and Oster are two of the leading manufacturers of electric wine bottle openers.

More information on bottle openers