How to Use an Electric Corkscrew

The easiest, quickest and most convenient tool for opening a bottle? Electric corkscrews. They are among the most user-friendly, and useful, kitchen gadgets. The design is sleek, and operating it is simple—most electric corkscrews will pop the cork out automatically with just the touch of a button. 

This especially comes in handy for anyone with dexterity issues (hello, carpal tunnel and tennis elbow sufferers), says Marshall Tilden III, Wine Enthusiast’s chief revenue and education officer, in a short video: “These electric corkscrews have become just enormously popular—especially with people who have arthritis or hand pain because they are, quite frankly, the easiest way to open a bottle of wine.”

Unique Features with Some Drawbacks

While each electric corkscrew comes with its own features and accessories, most include a foil cutter, which makes sense given that they don’t have space for a fold-out knife, like most traditional waiter’s corkscrews. 

In the years since Tilden recorded his YouTube tutorial below, these gadgets have gotten even better with a wider array of accessories. “The technology has improved in terms of the speed and power in which the opener extracts the corks, and the sets now feature more add-ons such as aerator/dispensers in the higher end models,” he says.

Additionally, som come with special stoppers that can preserve wine for up to a week—and longer in some cases. Others can read the temperature of the bottle with the press of a button. Wine Enthusiast’s splurgey, yacht-inspired Wine Winch Professional Uncorking Machine even comes with lights and sounds for added entertainment—if you’re willing to throw down a sizable amount of cash to get one.

But, like all things that seem too good to be true, there are some drawbacks to electric corkscrews. 

“They are not ideal for older wines where the corks may not be fully intact,” Tilden warns.

There’s also the question about wax tops. Most electric corkscrews “should be able to drill through most wax tops, depending on how thick the wax is,” says Tilden. But you still might want to keep a traditional wine key around to remove thicker coverings, just to be on the safe side.

How to Use an Electric Corkscrew

1. Place the wine bottle upright on a flat, sturdy surface
2. Remove the foil capsule covering the wine bottle. 
3. Remove the electric corkscrew from its charging base and power it on, if needed.
4. Get a firm grip on the wine bottle in one hand, and center the electric corkscrew on top of the bottle with the other hand.
5. Press the DOWN button
6. Guide the corkscrew in a downward motion as it inserts the worm into the cork, then pulls the cork out of the bottle.
7. Press the UP button to retrieve the cork from inside the corkscrew.
8. Pour a glass, take a sip and enjoy your wine.

Want to Watch it in Action? Here’s a Video