The Pulltap's Classic Double-Hinged Waiter's Corkscrew meets
the OXO Steel Double Lever Waiter's Corkscrew
Serious Eats' best wine opener after 50 bottles, and the waiter's corkscrew America's Test Kitchen uses as its benchmark. We tested it head-to-head against the OXO Steel Double Lever Waiter's Corkscrew across 6 key dimensions.
Pulltap's Classic Double-Hinged Waiter's Corkscrew
“Serious Eats' best wine opener after 50 bottles, and the waiter's corkscrew America's Test Kitchen uses as its benchmark”
OXO Steel Double Lever Waiter's Corkscrew
“Food & Wine's top corkscrew of 32 tested, with a grippy handle and a foil cutter Serious Eats calls wicked sharp”
Head-to-Head Breakdown
Strengths & Weaknesses
Pulltap's Classic Double-Hinged Waiter's Corkscrew
- Serious Eats' best wine opener after Grace Kelly opened 50 bottles with 20 openers
- America's Test Kitchen's pick for older, crumbly corks, at about 9 seconds per cork
- Food & Wine says it is what most sommeliers and wine professionals reach for
- America's Test Kitchen warns of a learning curve, and you need both hands
- Serious Eats wished the foil knife were a little sharper
- Knockoffs are common, so check for the Made in Spain stamp
OXO Steel Double Lever Waiter's Corkscrew
- Food & Wine's Best Overall Corkscrew, with the most comfortable handle of the dozens it tested
- Serious Eats says the cat-claw foil cutter swipes through metal wrappers like they were nothing
- Built-in bottle opener handles beer caps too
- Serious Eats found it a bit large, with a long second fulcrum
- Food & Wine calls it slightly pricey for a waiter's corkscrew
- No source tested it on old, brittle corks
The Verdict
Our Bottom Line
Grace Kelly at Serious Eats opened 50 bottles with 20 lever, twist and waiter's openers. Her pick was the Pulltap's double-hinged corkscrew. She loved the balanced metal handle, the sharp worm and the spacing of the two fulcrums, which made it easy to lift the cork out in two short pulls.
Pulltap's Classic Double-Hinged Waiter's Corkscrew
Grace Kelly at Serious Eats opened 50 bottles with 20 lever, twist and waiter's openers. Her pick was the Pulltap's double-hinged corkscrew. She loved the balanced metal handle, the sharp worm and the spacing of the two fulcrums, which made it easy to lift the cork out in two short pulls.
- You open older or cellared wines with fragile corks
- You want the corkscrew sommeliers carry
- You want something small enough for a pocket or apron
- You are willing to practice a two-step technique
OXO Steel Double Lever Waiter's Corkscrew
The OXO Steel Double Lever is the corkscrew Food & Wine put first. Vicki Denig tested 22 manual corkscrews and 10 electric openers with prices hidden until after testing, and the OXO had the most comfortable handle of the dozens she tried. It removed corks effortlessly every time.
- You are buying your first waiter's corkscrew
- You care most about a comfortable grip
- You want a foil cutter that slices cleanly on the first pass
- You mostly open young, everyday wines