Clearly, I’d prefer a Durand. Since I cannot afford one, however, and I’ve got a few 10 yrs+ bottles coming up, I would like to buy an Ah So + an opener with a long coil/worm that works well with the Ah So. Any suggestions? The Monopol seems like a clear preference in the board, but I’m not sure what to pair it with. Thanks in advance, and yes I understand that a Durand would be better. I’ll get one at one point, really.
I did that for a while with a vintage folding corkscrew I got on eBay and an ah-so, but I eventually caved on a Durand. There are some cool vintage picnic corkscrews, but they normally don’t have a long worm. I think both together cost me like $35-$40.
While the price seems high for what it is, I feel like the Durand is worth the investment if you will be needing such a setup moving forward. If just a handful of bottles, go with a modified setup. If more than than, it’s no different than investing in a very nice bottle of wine, but you get the benefits for (likely) the rest of your life (BIFL). Everyone’s budget is different, but if you can take it out of your current wine budget to get better enjoyment out of what you’ve already invested in, it’s worth the short term pain.
They kinda messed with me on my sheath purchase (shipping issues they tried to make me pay for), but their product is a good one.
You can use pretty much any corkscrew and Ah-So so mimic the Durand in a pinch
Handy little video guide on how to do that curtosey of Chateau Musar. Starts at ~4.50min mark
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Thanks both. I saw this video in a previous thread. It’s very helpful. However, so far I have only used a wing corkscrew. The Monopol I think is a reasonable purchase that also makes sense to use on its own. I’d like to purchase a wine key/waiter’s corkscrew of comparable standard (ideally one with a long coil and that is not that much in the way of the ah so).
There should be no cork issues with properly stored 10 year old wines.
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I get the HiCoup on Amazon. The coil isn’t as long as some I’ve seen, but it gets all the way through standard corks (probably not the extra long ones), and it’s nice and sharp, which is a big benefit with older corks. Plus, inexpensive.
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thanks for this. it’s 10 years+. one’s a 2000 turley, for instance. recently, we had some troubles with clean cork removal with bottles between 10-20 years old.
If you haven’t searched for “Ah So Wine Opener for Vintage Bottles“, do so. There are quite a few knock off options at 1/4 the price of the Durand. I cannot speak to their quality, but the prices are not unreasonable.
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I haven’t used the waiter’s key + sideways ah-so before as shown in the Musar video, but I’d worry it would slice through the cork and be a much higher risk for crumbling and/or pushing down on the cork instead of sliding to the side since the ah-so blades aren’t as parallel with the side of the neck. I’m sure there are ways to do it well if you have experience, though.
As for the knock-offs, just depends on your comfort with foreign products that likely infringe on patents held by Durand.
Thanks so much. I’d like to shell out on a real Durand later (it’s also makes a great addition to my wishlist), so I don’t want to buy a knock-off. I also would like a proper ah so and a decent key/waiter’s corkscrew.
I’ve done it quite a few times, before I had a Durand. It usually worked very well, even after breaking and removing part of a fragile cork without the ah-so. Starting with both openers, before damaging the cork, is almost as good as a Durand, in my experience.
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I also came here just to say buy a knock off in the interim if you don’t want to or can’t afford the real deal right now. Likely not as good or as durable, but will also likely do the trick for awhile.
As an aside, it seems like Monopol or some other producer could make an ah so with a winged handle and a hole/space for inserting any corkscrew that would likely sell well (within the spectrum of robust sales for an ah so anyway). Maybe I’m missing something on the mechanics, but it seems like something that could work.
I think you’re way more likely to sink a cork using an ah-so first than a corkscrew.
Ah, I suppose that is the catch. Much more difficult to make an ah-so to accommodate any already-inserted corkscrew than the other way around.
Put the worm in slightly diagonally, so it’s not in the way at the top. Then the ah-so can go straight down. The corkscrew only needs to be off-center at the top just enough, since you do want the two components flush and working together as a unit. He’s a bit sloppy in another way, pulling the cork so fast. You can still have a bit of a very degraded bottom of a cork come off. With this method, a lone ah-so or a Durand, you can pinch the two prongs as you ease the last quarter inch or so.
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This one right? Amazon.de
did you use the hicoup for this?
Which corkscrew would you recommend for this?
The worm from the Le Creuset pocket model is long, thin, inserts easily, and has a relatively small top, so it can be used in conjunction with an Ah-So.