
This may seem elemental to many of you, but we are constantly surprised by how many friends don't know how to use our simple, no-frills corkscrew. Blame it on the Rabbit and other easy-open wine contraptions.
This waiter's key corkscrew is all we've ever known — it's what waiters use tableside in restaurants. Below, our step-by-step instructions to using this inexpensive gadget...
Just like a pocket knife, a waiter's key has a fold out blade to cut off the foil around the top of the cork. Run the blade all the way around...
...and off comes the foil.
Then pull down the corkscrew and center it in the cork. Twist.
Once the corkscrew is all the way down, bend the notched lever down so that the end grabs on to the edge of the bottle top. That'll anchor the corkscrew as you pull out the cork.
Our waiter's key is a little old and wonky, so we often have to screw the corkscrew deeper into the cork to get the full extension of the lever necessary to pull it out. There's still a little wiggling involved at the very end.
And, you're finished! We assume you need no instructions on how to pour.
FYI, a waiter's key is extremely inexpensive — save the money you'd spend on a fancy opener and upgrade your wine instead.
Related: How To Throw a Summer Wine Party
Republished from article originally posted on July 2, 2008
(Images: Elizabeth Passarella)
nah, I'll use my opener--not a rabbit but still a godsend with its two plunger type arms--and still upgrade my wine.
view ValHalla's profile
I've got one that has two notches in an extended lever, that effectively eliminates the need to turn the corkscrew a second time to get the full leverage effect.
view Michelle of Montreal's profile
I use one of these--holdover from my waitressing summer.
view lcg's profile
I have one of those and I hate it. I do not have strong hands! The twirly kind with the two arms is my favorite cheapie. My brother gave me a rabbit for Xmas one year. It works very well but it doesn't get used too often because it's such a contraption it's stored away...somewhere...in my tiny weird kitchen.
view cmcinnyc's profile
As far as i'm concerned, this is the only way to open wine.
view kittystockings's profile
yes, one of the best things about past experience waiting tables..my love for my wine key. i especially love that it has a handy little knife.
view hazel8's profile
I worked in a restaurant a few years ago as a manager and was in charge of ordering these types of supplies for our waiters, the double hinged wine key is an upgrade from this kind, there's less of a chance of breaking the cork and you don't have to screw the key in further to use the leverage. You can see a similar one here http://www.wineopeners.com/Pulltap-pulltaps-corkscrew.html
view bcarter82's profile
I love my $3 waiter's friend. Simple, compact, and no need to keep up with a foil cutter. Also, there's something refreshingly manual about using one.
view matmccoy's profile
after breaking one of the twirly kind and seeing the outrageous price of the rabbit, i found the swing-a-way (love them) version of the waiter's corkscrew and can't believe i hadn't used one before. i thought i wouldn't be strong enough to use it, but the leverage factor makes it so easy to pull out the cork - no weight training needed.
view akostalas's profile
It's all I use. No need for frills and gadgets. As a former waitress, I learned it's a tool that I can use for MANY things, not just opening wine. Quite the multi tasker. I love it.
view annaland's profile
wow! i too never knew how to use this tool! i also can't use the doo-hicky that supposedly lets you make rosebud raddishes and the like
view SydneyBristow's profile
I use this kind often (very portable!), as well as the kind with two handles. No motors here.
view UptownGirl's profile
It's probably snobby of me or something, but I refuse to use anything else. I'll never forget learning how to use it in Beverages class in college- the professor made everyone do it in front of the class. I was so scared I'd break the cork :-)
view BrooklynBaker's profile
One modification-- in my experience nearly all wine bottle foils can just be pulled off the top of the bottle without the need for cutting. Maybe not as elegant, but it's a lot faster and safer. Just grab around the foil with your entire hand, twist and pull up, and it will slide right off.
view MattyG's profile
I use one all the time but you do have to be careful that the notched part doesn't slip as you are trying to get the cork out. I have been cut before.
view Astur's profile
ditto to mostly everyone who has commented. Of the many life lessons I took away from shlepping hot platters to cold people, opening a bottle with a wine key effortlessly may be my very favorite.
view jess pith's profile
This is all we use. I don't think we've ever broken a cork. Works like a charm.
view heather77's profile
I find these easier to use than the rabbit-type ones.
view Sian's profile
nothing beats this sort of opener in the end. We got a really expensive rabbit when they first came out (a $200 gift) and really, the thing just takes up space and gathers dust. And it broke at one point. My trusty Swiss-made Waiter's corkscrew was the first thing I bought when I moved into my last apartment and it was the first thing I packed when I moved!
P.S. Is this really a "hack"? To me it's more a guide on how to correctly use it!
view aperocot's profile
A wine key is the only way to go. So efficient, small and simple.
view clampers's profile
I love my analog wine opener! I consider such contraptions as the Rabbit in the digital realm. Mine doesn't even have the hinge bit. I just twist off the top foil, twist in the corkscrew, then with it positioned just right between my knees, gently pull the cork straight out. There's nothing like the "thwock" sounds that it makes. Music to my ears!
view GretaGrace's profile
This always seemed like the best option for me. Simple, cheap, compact and I never seem to have any problem getting the cork out. Or maybe I've just had to much practice. I can't help but laugh when friends retrieve their fancy rabbit from the pantry or where ever and all I can think is "i could of had the open by now"
view michelleb's profile
Our rabbit gets the most use but a waiters corkscrew is the only way to remove the synthetic corks w/out breaking the parts on the rabbit as we've already gone through one of those (replaced gratis from Williams-Sonoma). We also keep one in the glove box in my car as you never know when the need for a picnic will strike.
view rosebud's profile
this is what i use (a hold over from my years as a banquet server) but i'm sitll terrible at it. i always seem to twist it down on an angle and then destroy the cork while trying to get it out. practice makes perfect though, guess i'll just need to keep trying :)
view amers230's profile
The thing I can't use is the double-pronged wine opener my parents use. You slip the prongs on either side of the cork between the cork and the bottle and somehow are able to pull out the cork. All I ever end up doing is pushing the cork into the bottle.
view repressd's profile
@repressd - I hate those pronged wine openers, too. Although I do have a funny story now of when a friend tried to use one and wound up spilling wine on the ceiling.
I use the Screwpull picnic model. It's as simple as the waiter's key, but even easier to use.
view Mlle. Cara's profile
A few things:
1. Get the longest corkscrew you can get. I only see the really good ones about once a year. If you see a good one, snatch it up!
2. Screw it in all the way. This way you're not leaving any cork on the end to break off.
3. Hold the lever to the edge of the bottle with your non-pulling hand and it won't slip off/bite. Also, you won't get a gauche pop sound as the cork comes out, because you can control the speed.
4. Don't be embarrassed to spin the bottle under the corkscrew the first few times. It may help you to set the screw dead center and straight into the cork.
view Leigh Knight's profile
After seeing a friend who used to wait tables use my waiter's corkscrew, I now agree that this is the only way to open a bottle. I've never broken a cork using one of these properly.
view HomebrewMeister's profile
I had no idea this was a "waiter" thing - my family and now myself have always used them because they take up less space in the drawer...
view mabaihua's profile
When I was still stealing wine from my parents liquor cabinet and didn't own a corkscrew let alone know how to use one, I used to use a butter knife to kind of stab the cork into the bottle. Yes, It caused a minor explosion, but effective none the less. I saw a while ago on AT how to open a wine bottle by hitting the bottom of it on a wall. Would have been good to know.
view ProfanitySucks's profile
Love the waiter's key. Quick and easy. I also love being the only one in a room (or a tent) who knows how to use the two pronged thingee. In case any of you need a tutorial on that, it's really easy: Slide the longer prong in first, then tip it the other direction until the short side is in, then shimmy it quickly back and forth (doesn't require as much pressure as you'd think) until it's all the way in, THEN you gently twist and pull the cork out. It's magic.
view darcitananda's profile
My uncle has one of those rabbits... Don't tell but it utterly baffled, me, I had to get the backup corkscrew from my purse to get the wine open the last time I visited.
view Tchivai's profile