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75 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vacu Vin Winemaster versus Screwpull Elegance, December 20, 2002
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.
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