Recommends · The Bar
Vintage Corkscrew
The two-part corkscrew that draws fragile corks from old bottles, whole and intact.
By The Durand · $145 · Photography, see credits
Photography: The Durand
The Durand is a fully patented, two-part device for removing old and fragile corks. A helix screws into the center of the cork while two slim blades slide down between the cork and the bottle neck, gripping the cork from the inside and supporting it from the outside at the same time. It was invented by Atlanta wine collector Mark Taylor and named for his friend, sommelier Yves Durand.
Anyone who cellars wine eventually meets the cork that crumbles. A conventional screw reams the center out and leaves the rest clinging to the glass; the Durand eases the whole cork out in one piece. Instructions are printed on the inside of the reusable wrapper that encloses the cork presentation box.
Why it belongs
Napa Valley collectors sit on bottles with decades of age on them, and the valley's tasting rooms regularly open library vintages for guests. The Durand belongs in every serious wine country cellar and on every estate tasting room's back bar, because the worst moment of a memorable evening is a cork disintegrating over a 1987 Cabernet. Keep it with the decanters, not in a drawer.
“The Durand removes old and fragile corks whole and undamaged.”