Cheers to corkscrews!

00:00 03:42

Henry Jeffreys has narrated this article for you to listen to.

For the first 50 years of the corked bottle, there was no easy way to get into it. The combination of cork and a strong glass bottle came together around 1630 but the first mention of a device to open the bloody thing wasn’t until 1681. Cavalier get-togethers must have resembled the teenage parties I attended with everyone desperately trying to open the bottle using keys, pens, knives etc. Or using that technique where you bang the bottle against a wall with the heel of a shoe. Halcyon days. More likely they’d just take the top off cleanly with a swift blow from a sabre and a loud ‘Huzzah!’.

Early devices for extracting corks were called ‘bottle screws’. According to Hugh Johnson, the word ‘corkscrew’ was first used in 1720. From there, this handy little piece of equipment has conquered the world, from early versions which were simply a piece of metal with a wooden handle to the full nerdery of the £100 Screwpull – beloved by wine bores of a certain vintage.