Pre-Invention:
“No other material can seal off a fine vintage the way a cork can: it's tasteless, odorless and remains elastic, even over long periods of time. But corks can also be very tricky to remove, and have been since they were first used in wine bottles around the end of the 18th Century.” (Finely Corked) Before corks there were casks. Corks are great for the function but sometimes can be flawed. The screwpull corkscrew is the solution to any and all corks. Because the cork is pushed down into the bottle neck and isn’t as easy as grabbing it and pulling it out as they did in the old days. Although corkscrews were probably fashioned after a gun cleaner made by a gun smith who used an iron device to remove shot from a muzzle, corkscrews have evolved over the century until where they are now, the screwpull corkscrew.
Invention:
Well first we need the inventor. “Herbert Allen assembled one of the best wine cellars in Texas. His work on Screwpull began in 1975.” (Finelycorked) Pretty much his wife nagged him to create a tool that would get the cork out perfectly every time because she had some unwanted failures. So, “The original Screwpull corkscrew was invented in the late 70's by Herbert Allen, a Texas oil drilling engineer. With its sharply pointed, Teflon-coated worm, the Screwpull corkscrew was then heralded as the world's greatest corkscrew.” (Corkscrewi) The success of the screwpull corkscrew is its ability to be used easily and its inability to fail. The model presented itself as a tool without force, injury or embarrassment. In 1979 the Table Model won Allen the USA Inventor Of The Year award.
It doesn’t break the cork; however, it still splits apart the moulding seam after a while. Anybody can use it. The thin screw (Helix screw) that glides through the cork is guided straightly because it’s attached by a handheld base residing on the neck of the bottle. It takes one smooth motion, one twist and the screw goes down and the cork goes up. The screw always hits the center. It’s easy because it requires no exertion and rather little thinking. If you’re drunk you could probably still open this bottle of wine without harming yourself or the bottle… “With the Screwpull, you just start turning the screw into the cork. When the screw reaches a certain point, instead of going deeper into the cork it starts drawing the cork out of the bottle - with the same turning motion!” (Wine Intro) It doesn’t distort the cork, and it’s easy to pull the cork back off the screw. A piece of the cork doesn’t end up in the wine. And, perhaps the best part of the screwpull corkscrew is that it works on all types of cork, whether the cork is long, small, fragile, stubborn, hard, or whatever. So if you can’t afford a waiter to open your wine, get a screwpull corkscrew.
Today the screwpull brand is owned by French cookware manufacturer Le Creuset, which also owns Screwpull Elegance.