The only thing unaccessible about wine is not having a corkscrew.
Here are some of the most impressive/ridiculous corkscrews we’ve ever seen.
Anna G. and Alessandro M. are the names of the man and woman corkscrews designed by Alessandro Mendini circa 1994. Mendini was part of a group of Northern Italian designers in the 1980s who integrated form into function for everyday devices.
Woman Corkscrew ~$60
Man Corkscrew ~$44
Hahn kitchenware in the UK first came out with their corkscrews in 2006 and went on to develop one of the most pragmatic expandable wine rack designs in the business. Sadly, when we last visited the site, it appeared as though they are out of stock on many of their designs. We hope they relaunch the Fish and the Shark!
Hahn Fish Corkscrew ~$50
The original design was created by Italian designer, Alessandro Mendini, who was part of a group of designers that went against functionalism and created pleasure objects inspired by popular culture in the 1980s and 1990s. The parrot design finally came out in 2003 and is especially unique because while it looks hilarious, the inclusion of a double-hinged lever makes it easy to operate.
Parrot Corkscrew ~$55
Alan Wisniewski is the designer of this awesome T-style hammerhead shark corkscrew. Even though the worm of the corkscrew doesn’t look especially easy to use, it’s a stunning piece of design.
Shark Corkscrew ~$24
This is terrible. Wait. It’s awesome. Wait…
Gigolo Corkscrew ~$12
While the “Ah-So” wasn’t the first pronged cork extractor, it’s been one of the longest made openers in this style. The name “Ah-So” has been theorized to mean “Ah, so that’s how it works!” And, it does particularly well on older corks.
Monopol “Ah-So” Corkscrew ~$20
Before today, I thought the most expensive corkscrew was the Code 38. Not true. The Jester is part of a kitchenware set made in Piemonte, Italy and there are only 999 in existence.
Jester Corkscrew $1500
The original Zig-Zag corkscrew is under French Patent No. 503957 granted to Marie Jules Leon Bart on March 29, 1920. The design is aggressive, industrial, and somewhat frustrating-yet-addictive to use.
Zig-Zag Corkscrew ~$50–$100 on ebay
Want to see more?
Here’s a link to someone who has obsessively cataloged older corkscrew patents. Or you can check out the full pinterest board:
