WHY WINE: CORKSCREWS

WHERE AND WHY, THE CORKSCREW

Wine bottle openers or corkscrews are gadgets used to remove corks from the neck of wine bottles. Gun manufacturers in 17th century England, sold an accessory with their muskets and pistols called a bullet removing "worm". It was a long spiraled piece of metal that could remove unspent charges from the barrel of their weapon.

Corks in that century, were used to seal barrels of beer and cider. The corks were long enough to grasp with their fingers. This allowed the user to open and reseal the cask as needed. In the 18th century, wineries discovered that by using bottles and putting the entire cork into the neck of the wine bottle to prevent air from entering the bottle, wine could be kept for longer periods of time. This lead to the ability to "age wine" and transport the wine long distances.

The bullet removing worm was used to remove the cork and became known as a corkscrew. Not only did this give the gun manufactures a sideline which became very profitable, but it allowed the wine industry to increase dramatically. The aging of the wine created much better tasting wines. This lead to a higher demand for these wines, which lead to more production of wine and higher prices for the "aged wine".

Today, wine bottle openers come in all shapes and sizes from the basic corkscrew to the complicated carbon dioxide driven openers. Simple wine bottle openers cost about $2.00. The professional wine bottle openers that restaurants, bars and wineries use, can cost $2,500 or more.