Reddit mentions: The best wing corkscrews

Kitchen gadgets, obviously depending on what she has:

• Silicone spatula set (like this where the whole thing is one piece and silicone, not just the head stuck on a wood handle or something) - I got a set of these for Christmas and they’re great
  
• Meat thermometer
  
• This corkscrew if she’s into wine - got this as a wedding present and I think it's actually magic
  
• If she has a kitchenaid stand mixer, there are some great attachments you could get depending on what she likes - I'm a fan of their ice cream maker and meat grinder, and I've heard good things about their pasta one
  
  Non-gadgets:
  
  
• Again, if she's (really) into wine, the Wine Folly book is great
  
• Cooking classes (check local Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table)
  
• DIY truffle or cake pop sets or something fun like that if she's into sweets - bonus if she will like making stuff for her kids or students
  
• Speciality ingredients like a spice array or salt variety pack (maybe check https://themeadow.com/)
  
• If she likes cheese, you can definitely find some nice cheese boards for reasonable prices
  
• If she's into coffee, I'm told Blue Bottle ships super fresh beans that are really good
  
• Sort of relatedly, a nice travel mug/bottle like a hydroflask or something that she can keep in her classroom without spilling that will keep a beverage hot/cold
  
• Nice picture frames are always great, especially if you order some high quality prints of some family photos or something

A lot of my friends have the waiter Corckscrews, and by amazon reviews, this one seems to be the most loved and most durable:
http://www.amazon.com/Creuset-WT-110-Screwpull-Waiters-Corkscrew/dp/B000GA311Y/ref=pd_sim_k_14

But I find this to be more for waiters and not for people at home. Not the easiest to handle.

I myself have a full steel wing corkscrew that I got from my parents. They don't make things like this anymore. It's all metal alloy and easy to handle, there is no way it will break.

The best I can find on amazon with some heft and weight and most likely not to break is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-Wing-Corkscrew-Made-Alloy/dp/B002O3Y7H8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324790499&sr=8-1

EDIT for LEVER and Rabbit corkscrews:
If you want something really classy to impress your friends, you could also try "rabbit corkscrews" or lever corkscrews. They both cost about the same, and at this point in the price range, (20$ for cheap to 50+ for nice) you may as well go for the full stand lever cork screw. This is basically one of those magic machines where you put in the wine and use the cool lever and pop you're done.

http://www.amazon.com/Trudeau-Trulever-Corkscrew-Set-Tin/dp/B0026RH6A2/ref=sr_1_10?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1324790693&sr=1-10

But really, I would suggest you go to the nearest second hand store and look around in their kitchen section and pick out a wing and a waiter's. They are both very cheap and if you find that full metal alloy one, you will not need anything else for a very long time. I have all three at home and I find myself using my wing the most, since my rabbit doesn't come in a stand, so I have to take it out of it's box, and then yada yada yada...

I've had these for a year and a half, love them, they're perfect. I was particularly looking for a glass bottle, and this one is perfectly designed, operates perfectly. If they crap out, I'll repurchase.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016O5W138/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_o5eqzb63J8GQA

People are talking about fairly expensive solutions (Coravin) or restrictive ones (half bottles), but honestly I'll just second the recommendation of Private Preserve. That, along with a sparkling wine stopper like this one if you drink sparkling wine, is plenty for me. Just try to finish the wine within a few days and you'll be fine. Sticking it in the fridge helps too according to most, but I've not found it to be a big enough difference to justify the inconvenience of waiting a long time for it to come close to room temp.

Specifically for sparkling wine, yes. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042KX7MC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My sweet summer child, bless your heart.

I can support Park Tool's gimicky shit, for sure.

But check out Campagnolo's corkscrew

That price is about a hundred bucks cheaper than MAP too.... lol

I always get them the accessories. In this case even more experenced wine drinkers still use the 5 dollar bottle openers they get at walmart. They have fancy co2 openers or a nicer one. Or you could always just go childish. Just an idea.

Best trainer under $25 you say?

Best I could find for that price

I have learned through trial and error that bottle openers with more surface area/wider opening contact surface tend not to bend caps as much as the keychain type. My go-to for releasing extra pressure is the wine corkscrew with an opener on top, sort of like this.


If you take your time, you can watch the bubbles rise dramatically in the head space (let it seal again!), and then after a few minutes they will recede, and you will vent again, and repeat this stupid procedure until you're convinced it won't explode on any judges.