All you really need here is the corkscrew, but the other bits-foil cutter, stopper ecc. do make a more imposing gift.Wine used to be stored in wood and sold by the pitcher, or bucket-full. Strong glass bottles came along in England in the 1660's. At first, they were stoppered with glass, each stopper being ground individually to fit its bottle and then tied in place. Uniform plugs of cork gradually replaced the custom-tailored glass. The cork, exported from Portugal, was inserted for half its length in the bottleneck, and the consumer twisted it out.
The corkscrew appeared a few years later, at the end of the century, and corks could then be driven flush with the bottle's neck.
We are a people with too much time on our hands so it's not surprising that we have generated at least a hundred variations on the corkscrew.The only thing that matters is this: the business end of a corkscrew, called the worm, should be a wire formed in a spiral. (See illustration.) Corkscrews with stamped worms that resemble wood screws should be rejected, shunned, even anathematized. Here's why. The wire displaces the least amount of cork and gives the greatest amount of lifting surface. The stamped worm drills a hole in the cork and offers only its edges for lift. If the cork is old, or soft, this latter arrangement can leave you with a half a crumbled cork in the bottle. The wire is slim and makes a spiral that's wide enough to slip a paper match inside. The tip is pointed and sharp.
For more information, try reading New Short Course in Wine,The
Click Here to see more reviews about: Wine Essentials Tool Kit
Product Description:
Indispensable accessories for the wine connoisseur; The deluxe set includes: stainless steel corkscrew, drop ring, bottle stopper, wine purer and foilcutter, all eloquently displayed in a hardwood case. 9"L. x 5"W. x 2"H.
Buy Now
