
Types of Wine Bottle Openers
There are many different types of wine bottle openers. Knowing a little bit about the different styles will help you identify if you are using the kind that is right for you. So let’s get in and explore the many different types of wine bottle openers.
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Screw Pull
The Screw Pull or Twist & Pull corkscrew is one of the first wine bottle openers ever invented. It’s the simplest of them all. It works by twisting the corkscrew into the cork and then pulling it, with all your strength out of the bottle. This one is the most difficult to use and is usually only used when wanting to make a grand gesture (or showing off) opening a bottle of wine.

Waiter’s Corkscrew
Small and portable is the best way to describe the waiter’s corkscrew. They are super handy, light, and can fit in almost any sized pocket. There are versions of these that have a small lever compounded into it, which makes it even easier to open a bottle of wine.

The Butterfly Corkscrew
Butterfly or Winged Corkscrews are one of the most common types of wine openers. These are about two to three times larger than the waiter’s corkscrew and don’t commonly fit in a pocket. They may be super easy to use, but the majority of these and shred cork. These are best used with synthetic corks.

Lever Style Corkscrew
Now we are getting to some of the fancier corkscrews. These self-pulling wine openers are my favorite and one of the easiest styles to use. Lever openers fall somewhere right in the middle between functionality and cost. They work well with every type of cork! Drawer space will be used up real quick with these! Table top lever openers are a fun upgrade too! I might splurge on getting a table top lever opener because they are gorgeous, but they also have their cons. Table Top Lever openers are more expensive and take up a good deal of space. They double as a piece of art. So for the real wine connoisseur, these are perfect!


Coravin
Now here is where you will spend a lot more money. If you are into drinking fancier bottles of wine, this is going to be the perfect addition to your collect. A Coravin inserts a needle in through the cork and allows you to get one glass of wine from a bottle and preserve the rest of the bottle. These are super handy when you have more expensive bottle and don’t have anyone to share it with or if you want to make a bottle last a long time.

Electric
Electric bottle openers are a different breed of their own in the wine industry. Some people feel that they are loud, boisterous, and unpleasant. Other’s love the quickness and ease that an electric bottle opener offers. It’s perfectly in the cross roads between functionality and class. Which is more important to you? Either way, electric openers are great for people with less grip and arm strength. As I get older, these will probably be my regular go to and I am perfectly fine with that.

Air Pump
Air Pumps and a little too over the top. Air pump openers function by pumping air into the bottle which then forces the cork up and out of the bottle. With how many other simpler and functional openers out there, air pump openers aren’t needed for most wine drinkers. Let’s save these for the rocket scientists and showoffs.

Ah-So Cork Puller
When I first saw an Ah-So I didn’t have a clue what it was! Till I wanted to drink from an aged bottle of wine and couldn’t figure out how to get the cork out. The two other openers I tried to use, completely destroyed the cork! That’s where these make sense. Rather than be inserted into the cork, these go between the cork and the bottle to more “ease” out the cork. If you are into aging wine at all or are into wines with sensitive corks, you must have an Ah-So wine opener in your collection.

So Which is Best For You?
Now that we have covered the most common types of wine bottle openers, how do you know which is right for you?
This is a handy chart to help you decide which you need to have in your collection based on the top of person and wine drinker you are!
What do you use?
What do you use? What do you like about it? Which have you tried and hated? Let me know your thoughts on these most common opener types!!
Talk to you all next time!!

All About Decanting Wine

8 Comments
Steve
My wife and I currently have a butterfly wine bottle opener as that is also what I grew up with. I have often noticed, like you, that it tends to shred corks. I have never really been happy with it as the results are so hit and miss. I think the one that intrigues me most is the waiter’s corkscrew. The combination of screw and lever really seem to make it the easiest and least expensive option for someone like me, who is on a budget. Thank you for going over these different styles!
admin
I was the same way with my butterfly corkscrew and I couldn’t identify why there was always cork in my glass till I started wine education! I am glad that you found this helpful!
Welcome Moeng
I grew up with the waiter screw and the butterfly is my favorite wine opener. The waiter screw can be used more for other function, but I always find not so much user friendly. The butterfly screw wine opener is always perfect because it provides better leverage when opening the wine. After reading your article, I learned a lot about the wine openers and my next collection of a wine opener would definitely be lever wine screw. With regard to the table lever screw and the electric, I will not buy such because would not have many uses for them. The lever screw is more bold and daring in appearance providing a presence felt. Thank you for this informative article and for sharing valuable information.
admin
I love hearing your personal insight! Thank you for sharing!!
Feji ben
Life has been made alot easier for us with the introductoin of wine openers,although i know people who still use screw drivers and pliers just to get their wine bottle open hilarious right….but its the truth and a big fact too.
Over the year i used Twist cock Corkscrews, as we all know they were introduced in the late 17 century and a few are still available to day…but my favorite is electric wine opener it durable and saves you some energy.
admin
Agreed! I definitely don’t want to have to wrestle a bottle! A wine opener that saves energy and lasts is truly important!
David nelson
I am not a very big fan of wines and i most times prefer to take my chilled lime beer….But during some period of celebration it would be good to have some wine.
I like your choice of wine openers but for me i like to use used the electric wine openers…i jus got one from amazon but i am here to test it out untill after this lockdown…thanks anyway from sharring this articlei know it would help a lot us out there.
admin
For some people, electric is perfect! It’s important that people do exactly what you did, and find what’s right for you!