# I need a high-quality, cool, elegant wine opener **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-high-quality-cool-elegant-wine-opener/363955 "2006-07-11T01:36:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-high-quality-cool-elegant-wine-opener/363955/21 "2006-07-11T21:43:40Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Normally, I’d agree with you. In this particular case, though, it’s really well made. It’s also really good with dry, brittle corks. Of the 30 or so\* corkscews I own, it’s maybe my thrd or fourth favourite. - :eek: :eek: :eek: [/QUOTE] That’s interesting, thanks. After experience with that style of corkscrew but not that model I had gone to assume they were all pretty bad. They often had too narrow a corkscrew and too powerful a pulling action, also they often didn’t sit well on the bottle making it easy to go in at an angle. Glad to hear that they can be made well, hope the Alessi Anna G corkscrew which is of similar design works as well, I love some Alessi designs (though recently they’ve been getting too cutesy). ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-high-quality-cool-elegant-wine-opener/363955/22 "2006-07-11T22:00:39Z")
[QUOTE=romansperson] Then maybe I need you to come over and show me how to get them off the corkscrew without a fight once they are out of the bottle. The plastic corks we’ve tried it on don’t want to come off once they are out of the bottle - it’s like the plastic conforms to it and doesn’t want to let go (WD-40 has crossed my mind, but somehow that just seems wrong ;)). [/QUOTE] I’m not trying to insult your intelligence, but you do know how to release the cork with the Rabbit right? Apologies if you already know this - but here’s what you do. After removing the cork from the bottle, the main lever is flipped all the way back, right? So you push it all the way back - basically putting the Rabbit back to it’s normal shape, and lowering the corkscrew (with the cork on it) all the way. From this position, squeeze the “ears” or the two handles. They will hold the cork, just like they grip the neck of the bottle. Flip the Rabbit handle up - just as if you were opening a bottle. Voila! The cork falls right off. Again - apologies if you already knew that (but simply have trouble with plastic corks). I, personally, have never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-high-quality-cool-elegant-wine-opener/363955/23 "2006-07-12T13:19:00Z")
[QUOTE=Doctor Who] I’m not trying to insult your intelligence, but you do know how to release the cork with the Rabbit right? Apologies if you already know this - but here’s what you do. After removing the cork from the bottle, the main lever is flipped all the way back, right? So you push it all the way back - basically putting the Rabbit back to it’s normal shape, and lowering the corkscrew (with the cork on it) all the way. From this position, squeeze the “ears” or the two handles. They will hold the cork, just like they grip the neck of the bottle. Flip the Rabbit handle up - just as if you were opening a bottle. Voila! The cork falls right off. Again - apologies if you already knew that (but simply have trouble with plastic corks). I, personally, have never had a problem. [/QUOTE] Yep, I know how to do this. Problem is, with the plastic corks I couldn’t do it - dang thing would get STUCK on the corkscrew, and I couldn’t pull the handle up, so I tried to twist them off by hand. That was really hard to do too, so I gave the thing to DH, and he couldn’t lever it off either, so he slowly and laboriously twisted the cork off. The only problem we’ve had is with the plastic corks. The real ones are fine. It may just have to do with a particular brand of cork. Thing is, if I were someone with arthritis and I bought The Rabbit in the hopes of making the job easier, I woulda been, ah, screwed. YMMV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-high-quality-cool-elegant-wine-opener/363955.md?page=1)