What is Corkscrew?
[[File:Korkenzieher.jpg|thumb|{{center|A simple corkscrew.}}]] [[File:Kellnermesser p1000026.jpg|thumb|{{center|A 'waiters friend' or [[:en:wikt:sommelier|sommelier's]] knife.}}]] [[File:Wing Corkscrew BW 2011-12-30 14-19-41.jpg|thumb|A wing corkscrew ]] A '''corkscrew''' is a [[tool]] which is used to open [[wine]] bottles. It is inserted into the [[Cork (material)|cork]] and used to pull the cork out of the wine bottle. Corkscrews are needed because the cork cannot be gripped otherwise. == Basic wine tool == In 1732 an [[:wikt:anonymous|anonymous]] [[poem]] shows just how far a man was willing to go to open a bottle of wine: {{cquote|Sir Roger set his teeth to work/ This way and that he ply'd/ And wrench'd in vain from side to side. Sir Roger then burned the cork from the top and pushed the remainder into the bottle—only to get his thumb stuck in the neck.<ref name=Taber15>George M. Taber, ''To Cork Or Not To Cork'' (New York: Scribner, 2009), p. 15</ref>}} With the popularity of wine today, a corkscrew is a common item in kitchens, [[Public house|pubs]] (bars) and [[restaurants]]. It takes between 50 and 100 pounds of force to remove a cork from a wine bottle.<ref name=MacNeil90>Karen MacNeil, ''The Wine Bible'' (New York: Workman Publishing, 2001), p. 90</ref> == History == The basic design of a corkscrew is been based on a tool called a [[gun worm]]. This was used by a [[:en:wikt:musketeer|musketeer]] to remove an unfired [[bullet]] from a [[musket]]'s barrel.<ref name=Taber15/> In the 1800s, many [[manufacturer]]s that made gun worms also made corkscrews.<ref name=MacNeil90/> The first [[patent]]ed corkscrew in [[England]] was by Samuel Henshall in 1795.<ref name=Taber15/> In 1883 a flat, [[lever]]-style corkscrew called the waiter's friend was invented in [[Germany]] by Karl Wienke. It is commonly used in restaurants today.<ref>Ned Halley, ''The Wordsworth Dictionary of Drink: An A-Z of Alcoholic Beverages'' (Wordsworth Editions Ltd., 2005), p. 627</ref> == References == {{reflist}} == Other webs