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In November, 1865 Henry John Sanders from the County of York, England was issued British Patent No. 2,844 for his "new or improved method for drawing corks from bottles." The picture at right is from an 1898 Farrow & Jackson, Limited catalog. This Wine and Spirit Merchant marketing Sanders invention under the name "Crystal Palace." The catalog description is "Powerful Continuous Action Machine, For Counter Use. One movement of the lever adjusts and locks the bottle, drives the screw, and withdraws and throws off the cork. The Bottle Rest is automatically adjustable to any size bottle." |
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An Irish company, MACCorkScrew Ltd. recently introduced their product which, like Sanders, has a rest for the bottle and removes and ejects the cork all in one motion. Two major differences can readily be seen: The unit is mounted on a wall and instead of raising the bottle lift to the cork remover, the entire mechanism is lowered over the bottle neck before extraction. In this ingenious design, with the handle in the totally vertical position, the frame slides down over the bottle neck and as the handle is pulled down the cork is penetrated. Returning the handle to the vertical possible will pull the cork out and discharge it from the worm. When not in use, the mechanism can be turned to the side for out of the way storage. |
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MACCorkScrew describes their product with: "MACCorkScrew is a unique and newly patented uncorking machine. What makes MACCorkScrew unique? Our secret is a patented adjustment and braking mechanism, which removes the need to provide physical support to push the bottle against the screw when uncorking a bottle of wine. The unbeatable speed of our product allows the cork to be removed from the bottle and the screw from the cork, all in one simple up/down action." |
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The MACCorkScrew corkscrew is currently available for $315.00. The bottle rest is an option at $30. I would recommend it and I found it best mounted about 12-14" below the bottom of the mechanism bracket. Without the stand, the MACCorkscrew would have to be mounted about 12-14" above a counter top. The MACCorkscrew can also be purchased complete with bottle rest and wood gift box for $385.00. Note: Prices as of December 10, 2001 on www.maccorkscrew.com |