Customer Reviews

Vacu Vin Winemaster Corkscrew, Black

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I have a modest collection of corkscrews. In my opinion, the Vacu Vin Winemaster is the best corkscrew for most people. For example, I also have the Screwpull Elegance, which is the top-of-the-line lever model from the company that invented the Leverpull; but I reach much more frequently for the Winemaster.

Some advantages of the Winemaster, particularly in comparison with the Screwpull Elegance:
1. The Winemaster is easy to grab, and lightweight. The Elegance is somewhat cumbersome and the handles flop around unless you grab it just so.
2. The Winemaster includes an excellent foil cutter (very nearly as good as Screwpull's) that is easily removed and replaced from the unit with one hand. Removal of Screwpull's foil cutter from the Elegance stand is more cumbersome and requires both hands.
3. The Winemaster requires less strength. Once the Winemaster is pressed down with relatively little effort to grip the top of the bottle, the unit is secured and doesn't have to be continually held to the bottle with hand strength as is the case with the Elegance.
4. Both hands can therefore be used to push down upon the Winemaster's two levers. The pressure upon the bottle is symmetrical, and little strength is required. With the Elegance, a sticky cork will be too much for someone who does not have much hand and forearm strength.
5. The Winemaster has a small footprint on your shelf. The Elegance, while it comes with a stand in contrast to many leverpull-type corkscrews, occupies quite a large footprint.

Some pluses for the Elegance:
1. The Elegance is a bit more majestic-looking than the Winemaster. The Elegance (and its price) therefore make for a more impressive gift as long as the recipient has appropriate forearm and hand strength.
2. The Elegance is a little faster (a matter of seconds) than the Winemaster. This is only important if you are opening a large number of bottles at the same time.
3. The Elegance can open superflange bottles. The Winemaster can also open flange bottles but was not able to grip the one superflange bottle that I have tried to open. Therefore, I recommend that you also have a high-quality waiter's corkscrew, which will serve as a backup for the Winemaster; and you can use it on picnics or for traveling. Good waiter's corkscrews do not require much strength as long as you pull the cork straight out:

My personal favorite waiter's corkscrews are
1. Boomerang Waiter's Corkscrew- It has a large handle, a built-in foil cutter as good as the Winemaster's, a floating axis for the spiral hinge (this helps keep the cork straight, for proper ease of removal) and a high-quality spiral (but not Teflon coated). It is inexpensive.
2. Pulltap's Waiter's Corkscrew - It has a two-position arm, which is another way of helping to keep the cork straight as it is removed, and is available with a Teflon-coated spiral. It is compact and well made. It is inexpensive, with optional more expensive handle finishes (Pulltap's Premium Corkscrew); I like the Graphite.
3. Puigpull Waiter's Corkscrew - The Teflon-coated spiral is inserted in the ordinary way; but it is removed by an amazing car-jack type mechanism, as easy as the Winemaster! (It takes a couple of minutes to read the instructions, just as with the Winemaster.) It is very compact, well made and a conversation piece. It is available in a variety of handle finishes, all inexpensive; I like the Hammered Gray.

If any of these are not available from Amazon, you can check the web site of the importer, Franmara, which is the major importer for corkscrews to the USA and was still selling to individual consumers the last time I checked.

Therefore, for most people, I recommend the Winemaster as the best corkscrew.

I have tried all the others - air injectors, expensive rabbit ears (lever), etc and this corkscrew is FAR SUPERIOR. The first time I tried it I thought it was broken because the cork came out so easily (AND I didn't even read the instructions) - not really sure where some people get confused using this... push down the lock cylinder on the bottle top, push down the small levers, push down the big levers - DONE! Push 'em both back up and the cork spits out. The above steps are done with such ease that it doesn't seem like it's doing anything - but once it's pulled the cork, the locking cylinder on the bottle automatically releases.
I also enjoy the look of the thing - rather "DaVinci-esk" and makes a great looking conversation piece on the counter. Oh - and the foil cutter is cleverly attached to the top, so you don't need to go searching for it, like with all the other screws.
Hope this helps! Enjoy!

It's a fun drinking game to give this corkscrew to a friend who's had a bit too much to wine. There are dozens of ways to use it which will result in nothing more than a mangled cork. But once you do figure out the right way, this tool cleanly and efficiently extracts corks from any wine bottle. Beware: this corkscrew is a bit on the large side and looks more like a commercial metal worker's gadget than a kitchen tool.

This wine opener broke afer opening only a dozen bottles of wine. (Some internal plastic part shattered.) To enforce the 2-year guarantee you must mail a form plus a copy of your receipt to the Netherlands within 4 weeks of purchase, then you must ship the wine opener to the manufacturer in the Netherlands. The shipping would cost more than the wine opener! Caveat emptor.

After previously owning a Vacu Vin Winemaster Corkscrew for many years which finally gave in, we decided to replace it with the same model. We purchased one that broke on the 3rd bottle of wine so we returned it for another one which did exactly the same thing. We never had any problems with our original corkscrew and even gave them as gifts. The "sleeve" that slips down over the bottle top has little plastic "stops" that broke off after one or two uses. Very disappointed because the design and mechanics of this corkscrew are great. It removes the corks as slick as a whistle usually but when these pegs break the "sleeve" slides down and makes it inoperable.

Believe me, this is the best and most innovative corkscrew I've ever come across (and I've tried many)! Removing a corkscrew from a wine bottle is extremely easy! There's no twisting, no turning and no pulling! You don't have to fight a wine bottle to get the cork out! What's more: The operation will really amaze your friends! It's really a jaw-dropper!

Using the WineMaster...
You just position the WineMaster on top of a wine bottle with the levers up. Then you pull down the small levers. Finally, you pull down on the large levers to pull out the cork! Now, the appropiate words to describe this operation is: Effortless! Easy! It is so easy that 10 year-old children will be able to use this corkscrew successfully on the first try!

What's the WineMaster's trick? The WineMaster's gears twist the metal corkscrew into the cork as you pull down the levers. You don't have to do it! Another plus: The corkscrew has a special coating to make the insertion effortless!

My only regret is this one: I should have bought the clear WineMaster! With the clear model, you can see the gears working! Ha! That's only a minor regret. The truth is: I am extremely happy with my Black Vacu Vin WineMaster!

Problems? I don't believe you will have any problems with the WineMaster. However, if you ever need parts or assistance, you should contact Vacu Vin at www.vacuvin.nl in The Netherlands.

First of all it looks so impressive that I had to immediately open a bottle of wine with this thing.

It uncorked the wine so easily that until the cork popped out, I thought I was doing it wrong!

My one concern is that the plastic housing on the bottom (that grips the neck of the bottle) may not survive the impact of an accidental drop on the floor. This device is heavier than most.

However, when it came to doing it's job, it did it effortlessly. The foil cutter is a spring-loaded gizmo with four cutting wheels that you pinch around the top of the bottle and give it a spin. It too works effortlessly and cleanly. It clips onto the top of the corkscrew when not in use.

The cork came out cleanly with just a neat hole in the center, no more destroyed corks for me, thank you very much.

**REVIEW UPDATE**
Well, it's 6 years later and this corkscrew is still pulling corks like the day I got it. The plastic tabs that hold the foil cutter in place have broken so that it no longer clips onto the top, but the foil cutter still cuts foil.

This corkscrew is amazing. There are several steps to using it but if you read the instructions once it's very simple to use. It is large, but it really works well and even ejects the cork automatically! It's wonderful.

Easily outdoes all other corkscrews I've owned (lots). After at least 100 bottles, it's never let me down! It always works 100% perfectly. I was initially wary to use it on my special bottles, but after using it flawlessly on so many bottles, I confidently say it's the only one I trust for my "best of cellar wines."
Although the foil cutter works perfectly, two of four small tips have broken off while releasing corks (not to what I would consider rough use) so it won't stay on top of the corkscrew anymore, but that is a minor issue compared to the benefit of this corkscrew. Recommend leaving the foil cutter off during uncorking and releasing the extracted cork.
I have not used it on any synthetic, plastic, or wax covered corks so can't comment on that. I'm concerned it would gum the corkscrew up. I'll never buy a different brand or type of corkscrew again. Well worth the money!

My 82 year old aunt can now open a wine bottle because the Vacu Vin requires minimal physical strength -- the only I have found that is so easy to use except for bench models.