December 3, 2003
Wine GiftsWhat to give friends who love wine? I think one of the most important gifts is a corkscrew. If you drink wine, you can never have too many-several in the kitchen, several in the dining room, the picnic basket, the brief case, and even the glove box in your car. This may sound excessive, but it really is not.
A good brand of corkscrew is Screwpull. Another good brand is "Ah-so."
The Screwpull has two important features. First, the screw is Teflon-coated. Second, the screw is what's called a "hollow worm." Both features facilitate the corkscrew grabbing and pulling the cork. This is very important if you are opening an older vintage wine.
Lesser corkscrews, in my opinion, have an auger for the screw. An auger is basically a drill, and when you use it on a dry cork or an old cork, the auger drills out the center. You find these augers on those hideous mechanical corkscrews that you place on top of the neck, drill the auger down, and then pull out the cork with those two mechanical levers on the top.
One good alternative to a Screwpull is a waiter's corkscrew. But the single most important thing to look for is the type of screw. It should always be a hollow worm, and the thinner the better! The thicker the diameter, the more it becomes like an auger-something to avoid.
The "Ah-so," a German brand name cork puller, is a key-like device with two prongs down each side. It may look intimidating, but it is actually very easy to use. You simply work the prongs down the side of the cork with a rocking motion. Then, turning the key, you pull the cork out of the bottle.
"Ah-so" happens to be a very good brand, I think. Other manufacturers make a similar design too.
Both the hollow worm screw and the "Ah-so"-type puller really do the trick. I recommend both. I have been known to give both types as one present.
You should be able to find these corkscrews in many wine specialty stores, and culinary stores like Williams-Sonoma.
I hope your Thanksgiving was festive and filled with good food, wines and friends.
Wine and food lover and Santa Maria Times Wine columnist, Bob Senn, lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
