Personally, I find that a good ole Screwpull and an Ah-So (the one with 2 prongs) - the one I use depends upon the cork, generally get the job done better than anything else.

I have a Rabbit, but I find the Screwpull is better, because it removes the cork more slowly and gently than the lever action of the Rabitt enables.

The Ah-So (especially one with a plastic handle) has the advantage of going through airport security without a hitch in a carry-on, whereas I have had problems with others having a helix.

If I lived near where Cordelli was, I'd pick up 4 of those Ecko Ah-So units for a buck in a New York minute.

Im a Rabbit fan myself...... ^

I also have fun with the gas operated models from Cork-pops....

We've gone through 3 rabbits in about 3 years. Our current one has lasted nearly two years. The key with the rabbit apparently is that you should only use them on natural corks.
We have a fully automated brookstone one, but it annoys me, so I don't use it often. It was given as a give.
The traditional screw darn with the arms popping out the sides works well for me.

I believe that the sommelier is the proper wine bottle opener.

That only works for BYO, as my cellar is better stocked to my taste than 99.99% of restaurants having sommeliers

Most truly high-end restaurants (the Michelin 3 star kind) are thrilled to have you BYO if what you bring really is something that they don't have (but wished they did).

OK, that begs the question. Give me your top 5 drinking (not collecting) wines in your cellar?

I'm in the same boat.

Presently, I have a raft of top tier Cal Cabs from the '84-87, '91, and '94 vintages that are drinking beautifully. And to think I paid under $30 a bottle for most of them, stuff like Beringer Reserve, Diamond Creek all 4 vineyards, Dominus, Montelena Estate, Mondavi Reserve, Dunn Howell Mtn, Forman, etc.

Also a very good selection of '82, '85, '86, '89, and '90 Classified Growth Bordeaux, mainly Super Seconds like the Leovilles, the Pichons, Ducru, Cos D'Estournel, L'Angelus, etc.

Given how the prices of these wines have escalated in more recent vintages, I shifted my buying to Oz, Spain, Argentina and Chile, but I still have hundreds of bottles of first tier Cab-based wines from the '80s and early '90s.

I have yet to meet a sommellier who would object to a BYO with fair corkage of this class of wine - especially if one offered them a taste.

Wow, that's quite the impressive collection!
I'd love to pick your brain on what you're buying from Oz, Spain, Argentina and Chile. Mind if I send you a PM?

Feel free.

This is an excellent illustration, I totally agree. A corkscrew should not have a core, but should have a helix such as the one pictured.

I use what I suppose is a "waiter's friend" type bottle opener from Laguiole en Aubrac.

Same here. I've used the rabbit-type openers with success, but really find that the "waiter's friend" does the job just as well.

Buy the classic Pulltex wine opener. Trust me, you will not regret it.

i bought one 4 months ago andt hink its the absolute best, they use a tephlon coating or something on the screw, not just black paint like some others (trader joes $1.99 opener i'm looking at you) and the ease that it goes into the cork is amazing, the two notch lever operates much better than the waitersfriend, i know they look exactly alike but when you look at the "feet" that touch the top of the bottle these have a different shape and work perfectly.

I have to report back. It is a great labor-saving device. It is so much fun to use that me bride opens the wine herself instead of handing it to me.


Saves my labor, anyway.