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Connie Chen/Business Insider
There's nothing quite like the disappointment of cork bits floating in your favorite vintage or the sinking feeling when you have a half-opened bottle and a broken corkscrew in hand. It's a frustrating experience, but it can easily be avoided with the best wine opener corkscrew.
To find the best wine openers out there, we consulted numerous wine experts and personally tested a dozen corkscrews. We narrowed down our top five based on price, materials, ease of use, and wine-drinking habits. Our top pick, the Le Creuset Waiter's Friend Corkscrew, stands out for its unparalleled blend of elegance, functionality, and durability. For those on a budget, the Truetap Double-Hinged Corkscrew is a colorful alternative that gets the job done.
Best overall: Le Creuset Waiter's Friend Corkscrew - See at Amazon
Best winged: OXO Winged Corkscrew with Removable Foil Cutter - See at Amazon
Best lever: Rabbit Vertical Lever Corkscrew - See at Amazon
Best budget: Truetap Double-Hinged Corkscrew - See at Amazon
Best electric: Secura Electric Wine Opener - See at Amazon
Wine pros love wine keys because they're compact and easy to carry around, and they have everything you need to pull a stubborn cork out, including a smart, simple leverage system and a built-in foil cutter.
Le Creuset's wine key is functional and beautiful to boot. Made from sturdy stainless steel, with a wooden handle, the best corkscrew feels substantial, looks great, and was the most comfortable to grasp of all the wine keys we tried. The sharp, serrated foil cutter cuts through foil easily. The screw, which is coated in a nonstick material, works well on a variety of corks and doesn't leave a mess once inserted or removed.
The hinges throughout the wine key have just the right amount of give — they're not too tight or loose — and the two boot lever notches (the parts that rest on the lip on the bottle) sit comfortably on the bottle opening. They won't slip off as you're pulling the cork out. There's even a helpful "push" etching to remind you how to use these levers.
We loved that this model has a clever, removable foil cutter that detaches from the bottom. It's comfortable to hold and removes corks smoothly. The main drawback is that it feels less substantial and sturdy than the KitchenAid model that was our previous pick. Unfortunately, the KitchenAid corkscrew is tough to find in stock.
The most unique feature is the built-in, removable foil cutter. You place it on top of the bottle and twist to pierce the foil. It reattaches to the base of the corkscrew when you want to store it. Foil cutters are nice to have but not strictly necessary, so we like that it's not an extra accessory you have to hunt for.
We found the wide body of the corkscrew comfortable to hold and the knob easy to turn. It cleanly pulled out corks without incident. While this is a comfortable and efficient corkscrew, we also know that winged openers often break after a lot of use, so we're continuing to test this and all of our picks for the best openers for long-term durability.
Using a lever corkscrew is only a matter of two steps: place the corkscrew into the cork, then squeeze the bottom of the opener and pull the lever upwards to remove the cork.
It might not be the best design for visual people, since the cylindrical opener covers the entire bottle top and it can be hard to tell when the cork has been removed if you're a beginner.
Still, Rabbit makes using the best corkscrew with a vertical lever nearly foolproof. Even if you don't insert the screw right in the middle, it pulls the cork out smoothly, and the lever feels sturdy and durable. It does struggle more with synthetic corks, though, and you might experience some resistance while pulling.
Connie Chen/Business Insider
In addition to the smooth operation, the cushioned and textured grip on the handle was a standout feature. This made pulling on the handle much more comfortable and gave me confidence that my hand wouldn't slip.
The Truetap corkscrew is metal all around. It's slim and light, with a thinner grip than the Le Creuset corkscrew. Because of this design, I found it less comfortable to hold as I removed the cork. I also had trouble pulling out the foil cutter, which was frustrating.
However, the overall effectiveness of the corkscrew is still there, which is why it's one of the best wine openers. All the hinges operate smoothly and aren't too tight or loose. The boot lever notches sit securely on the bottle lip and the screw is coated in a nonstick material, letting me pull out both synthetic and natural corks with no problem.
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It's hard to find a corkscrew that's both this affordable and effective, plus it comes in more than two dozen colors. You could easily stock up on a few of these openers and they'd still cost less than a nice bottle of wine.
Most kinds of wine openers require some physical effort and hand mobility. An electric wine opener is much more accessible. To use Secura's wine opener, all you need to do is press and hold the "down" button and it will insert the screw into the cork and take it out of the bottle. When you press the "up" button, it pushes the cork off the screw.
One tip is to hold the bottle as the opener does the work, or else the bottle will also spin. Other than that, the opener is user-friendly and efficient. There's a clear plastic section on the bottom so you can watch the screw enter the cork and make sure it's removing the cork effectively. And, the included foil cutter is very sharp.
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It takes eight hours to charge, and the accompanying charging base is compact and unassuming. Since it's made mostly from stainless steel, this best wine opener looks sleeker and feels a lot more substantial then another top competitor, Oster's electric opener.
Budget: Wine openers range in price from $5 to hundreds of dollars for luxury brands. Most are under $50 (like all of our top picks) and average around $20 depending on what type you choose. Plastic corkscrews are usually the most affordable option, but they can break easily, especially with tougher corks.
Materials: The material directly affects the best corkscrew's durability and performance. Look for durable materials like stainless steel, rather than plastic, and a nonstick coating on the screw. Not only do these materials make it easier to take the cork out, but they're also easier to care for and will last much longer.
Comfort: Some wine opener designs require more hand strength and dexterity, while others — like electric openers — are more ergonomic and can do all the work for you. Your physical abilities and preferences can help you narrow your search. Some of the best wine openers feature padded grips or handles shaped to conform to your fingers, reducing strain during use.
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I tested each wine opener on four bottles of wine: two bottles of Barefoot Wine, which uses synthetic cork, and two bottles of Trader Joe's Charles Shaw (aka "Two-Buck Chuck"), which uses natural cork. In this initial round of testing, I opened 36 bottles of wine.
Ease of use: I rated each opener on how smoothly and easily it pulled out the cork, while noting the comfort, compactness, and design features that added or detracted from its use.
Durability: I also washed each opener to evaluate the ease and comfort of washing and any specific care instructions. Finally, I dropped each opener from hip level onto the ground five times to test durability.
Wine key: Also known as a waiter's corkscrew, a wine key is typically double-hinged and contains a foil cutter and handle on one side, a screw in the middle, and two notched pieces on the other side.
Winged corkscrew: These wine openers have a wing on each side and a top handle that's connected to a screw in the middle. Once the screw is deep enough in the cork, you hold and push down the outer wings to remove the cork.
Lever corkscrew: A wine opener with a lever on one side. To use it, insert the screw, then squeeze the bottom of the opener and pull the lever upwards to remove the cork.
Electric opener: A wine opener that's usually rechargeable. It inserts the screw and removes the cork for you. Typically, it's operated with simple up and down buttons.
Ah-So opener: A wine opener with one long prong and one shorter prong. It's used to remove delicate or old corks. To use it, wiggle the long prong in between the cork and bottle. Then wiggle the shorter prong in, and twist the handle slowly to remove the cork.
All our experts recommend the double-hinged wine key. "You basically insert the screw into the cork, then twist and use the bottle as a leverage point to remove the cork" in one piece, said Alison Rodriguez, a winemaker for The Hess Collection.
Double-hinged wine keys and lever openers are simple to use but may be difficult for some with arthritis or similar concerns. An electric wine opener does most of the work, so it might be an easier option.
Take it slow and be firm with it. "Good old careful muscle is the best way to get out a stubborn cork," said Jordan Salcito, founder of wine brand Ramona and former beverage director at Momofuku.
The screw placement is also important. It needs to be centered and deep in the cork. "I hold the screw at an angle to the bottle and poke the tip into the cork and then move the screw vertical before screwing it in," said Mondavi, Jr.
Lastly, don't be afraid to take the task to the ground (really!). Mondavi, Jr. said, "Though not very graceful, it's functional for very stubborn corks: place the bottle on the ground between your feet. Firmly hold the neck of the bottle down and pull straight up on the corkscrew handle. Once the cork is 'broken loose,' you can bring it up to the table to finish the job."
An "ah-so" wine opener has two prongs and can be tricky for beginners to use. Because of its design, an "ah-so" opener is actually ideal to use on older bottles of wine when a traditional corkscrew would cause the cork to split or crumble. To use it, wiggle the long prong in between the cork and bottle. Then wiggle the shorter prong in, and twist the handle slowly to remove the cork.
