An Extra Charge For Corkage
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday July 2, 1990
THE perfect corkscrew - does it exist? Heaven knows, inventors have been coming up with new cork-extracting gadgets for centuries, exploiting every possible means of levering, pulling, and pushing, but with very variable success.
To see just what is on the market now, Tried & Tested went shopping and came up with seven different styles - very different styles.
They ranged from the extraordinary WL Easy-Pull with its elaborate pulley arrangement, brainchild of French inventor Bruno Desnoulez, through old familiars like the "waiter's friend" and butterfly styles, to the elegantly designed Hallen, allegedly the product of the leisure hours of an American brain surgeon. Prices varied almost as much as the gadgets, ranging from $2.75 for the butterfly to a slightly staggering $39.95 for the Hallen. But, alas, as usual, we found nothing labelled "Made in Australia".
In our test panel were lecturer Maureen Ahern and architecture student Janine Harkness, technical writer Peter Gracie and bank manager James Hill. Professional users were represented by Laurent Rigaud, assistant maitre d at the Hotel Intercontinental's Treasury restaurant, and Anibal Zarate, barman at the same establishment.
Testers were asked to rate the corkscrews on their appearance (which may not be an issue in the kitchen but tends to be at the dinner table), their efficiency in pulling corks and in cutting capsules and to give them an overall rating. They gave numerical ratings between 0 and 10 on the basis that 0 was hopeless and 10 perfect. Finally, they were asked to explain why they had given the ratings they had.
The table shows the very marked differences in quality that emerged. The winner, the traditional waiter's friend, and the third place getter, the unbranded butterfly style from QCC catering, were two of the cheapest corkscrews tested and represent great value for money.
The waiter's friend proved to be appropriately waiter-friendly; both the professionals rated it the best, because of its compact size and because it was multi-functional and easy to use (though Anibal remarked that in his experience the corkscrew itself on this style tends to blunten quickly).
Three of the four amateurs had other favourites though they gave this one good marks. The amateurs and the professionals parted company about several of the corkscrews. Laurent and Anibal preferred, as runner-up, the Ah-So, for its compactness and ease of use, though they lamented its lack of capsule cutter.
However, the high ratings of the amateur panel pulled the Zyliss into official second place. They liked its design - stylish, according to James Hall - and found it worked pretty well, though some had trouble with the capsule cutter. The professionals on the other hand found it too much fuss and too slow to use.
The very expensive Hallen was loved by the amateurs for its excellent capsule cutter and the males thought its design outstanding. The professionals agreed that it looked good but thought all its bits and pieces totally impractical. For leisurely home users this should be no problem.
Weirdo of the test was the WL Easy-Pull, whose design totally flummoxed testers, all of whom had trouble coming to grips with a ring-pull corkscrew.
Peter Gracie loved it, in a qualified sort of way: "It's really hard to make judgements as to appearance when one is prejudiced by what a corkscrew is'supposed' to be like. So I have to give this one 7 even though it looks fairly horrible. Trust a Frenchman to come up with pulleys and cords to operate something as simple as a corkscrew | I think the same man must have invented the seating mechanism in a Renault I once owned. In both cases the amazing thing is that it works brilliantly." Janine Harkness hated it: "Revolting contraption. Its pull-cord is reminiscent of starting an old Victa lawn mower. I would never buy this opener | Trust the French."
And the professionals took the view, in Anibal's words, that: "It's one of those things that you buy and leave in the back of the drawer."
© 1990 Sydney Morning Herald
