No matter how large or small your wine collection might be, you’ll need a wine opener to actually taste your collection. This is all you need to know about wine openers.
A Brief History of Wine Corks
Back when winemaking was far from modernized and industrialized like it is today, corks were an absolute necessity for any bottle of wine. The purpose of a cork was simple - it prevented oxidation inside the bottle for the most part, and while there was still a possibility for air to pass through, the aging process would be very slow. This allows the wine to be ready to drink even years or decades after its initial production.
Fast-forward to the modern era. Corks have been replaced by screw caps and other alternatives. Wine isn’t the only drink that’s kept and preserved in a bottle, and these alternative covers also offer their own benefits. But why, then, are corks still popular among wine brands today? The answer has to do with culture - wine culture, in particular.
Corks are, in many ways, obsolete if you really think about it. You can achieve the same if not better results when using alternatives to corks. However, corks hold a special place in the wine industry - they were THE bottle cap, and after centuries of use, the cork and wine became inseparable.
This is why, despite there being plenty of wines today that make use of modern screw caps, corks are still the favored choice by wine connoisseurs and winemakers around the world.
Types of Wine Openers
There are two major types of wine openers - manual openers and electric openers. Here’s a short comparison between the two types.
Manual wine opener/corkscrew
Manual wine openers are tools that don’t rely on electric power to function. You simply screw the opener inside the bottle, and once you think the screw’s in place, you pull it out. It’s that simple. The corkscrew is the most common form of wine opener, and its reliability makes it the ideal choice for many users.
There’s also the human aspect to it that makes it special. Sure, you could open the wine bottle with a fancy little contraption, but opening it yourself with your own two hands just feels so much more rewarding. It’s like you’re the one responsible for opening up a bottle of flavor and aroma. A little romantic, perhaps, but you get the idea.
Electric wine opener
These wine openers are the modern alternative to the traditional corkscrew. These work by using mechanical systems to open the cork safely and securely. Electric wine openers are very easy to use, and even novices should have no trouble with opening a bottle.
Of course, with electric compatibility comes electric reliance. The device needs the power to run, and if there aren’t any places to plug the device in, it’s just a glorified hunk of metal. This may not be a problem if you’re opening a bottle at home, but if you’re doing so by the beach or at a park, then it’ll be a lot more difficult to find a place to turn the device on.
Do I Need Wine Openers?
While corkscrews are common tools found among many wine collectors’ homes, they’re not an absolute necessity. Some wine bottles already come with a special wire cage, allowing you to pull out the cork yourself by hand. You can also open a bottle as they do in the movies and TV shows.
However, not all wine bottles are openable by hand, and depending on the winemaker who produced them, you’ll probably need a corkscrew to open that sucker up. As such, wine openers and corkscrews serve as insurance in the event that you can’t open the bottle by hand, rather than being a must-have – unless you never want to drink a glass of wine for the rest of your life.
How Much Do Wine Openers Cost?
A wine opener can vary greatly in price due to a number of factors. For one, the materials used in the wine opener can easily affect the final price. A basic corkscrew, for example, won’t cost nearly as much as an electric corkscrew with moving parts and other mechanical components.
Aside from material, it’s also important to consider the craftsmanship of the opener, especially if it’s one that’s made by hand. Usually, handcrafted corkscrews will go for a lot more due to the corkscrews requiring an expert to make them.
In general, you shouldn’t have to spend any more than $50 on a good wine opener. In fact, you could get your hands on a good one for just about $20 or less.
