My 84 year old mother is looking for a wine opener that is “good” and “substantial” but also easy for her to use, which means easy to understand but also easy to operate with limited arm and grip strength.
Recommendations, please.
My 86 year old dad swears by this type:
He uses the top model on the list. And has used this type of electric device for years. Everyday, as they love their wine!
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Does it work for older bottles?
I would not use it on older bottles
Andre Mack did a review of wine openers. Some are clearly gimmicks but he cites a few for being good options for people with limited strength.
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Does your father only have young wines?
At this point, mostly yes. They love Côtes du Rhône, Zins, and Sav Blanc mostly.
A friend’s 88-ish-year-old, 4’10" mother loves the electric openers – so much so that she insists on being the one to open bottles.
If he enjoys young wines, good for him. For me, one of the few advantages of getting old is an aging cellar. My Durand gets a decent workout.
Let’s hope we all retain enough arm and grip strength to savor our mature bottles that require a Durand.
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If we don’t, we may just have to hire some beefy help to open the bottle and put a bit of the old Ludwig Van on the stereo.
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Some friends have one of these:
https://get-winecorkpro.com/v4
I think it may be one of those listed in the link Robert posted. They only use it on relatively young wines (10-12 years or younger?). They are happy with it and I’ve seen them use it successfully on many bottles. Very simple to use. No strength needed. I did see it mangle a 7-year-old cork once, so it’s not 100% foolproof. But what is?
I wouldn’t trust it on an old cork.
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If you want to avoid battery/electric openers, Le Creuset has a “pocket” opener that works with little effort. They are plastic, however, but have a 5-year limited warranty.
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