Laguiole

I own 2 Laguiole wine keys; the most expensive wine key one can own to my knowledge. They are, besides appearance, my least favorite corkscrews. The screw is loose and the ease of use does not functionally compare with the--I'll call it two step screw--$7.00 version I picked up at Old Town.

Is it worth it?

[Robin Garr]

I own 2 Laguiole wine keys; the most expensive wine key one can own to my knowledge. There are, besides appearance, my least favorite corkscrews. The screw is loose and the ease of use does not functionally compare with the--I'll call it two step screw--$7.00 version I picked up at Old Town.

Is it worth it?

I have one Laguiole, with rosewood handles, and I enjoy it because of its luxurious look and feel in the hand. Never had any problem with having a screw loose but for functionality I agree that the two-step waiter's model gets the job done best - especially for longer corks - at much more bang for the buck.

"Wine key" is an unusual term to me, by the way ... where'd ya find it? I've been writing about this stuff for a mighty long time and generally refer to them as "corkscrews."

I have that 2-step Old Town wine key. I'd rather have that than anything. Robin, everyone at restaurants call it a "wine key"...don't know the provenance, though.

[Robin Garr]

I have that 2-step Old Town wine key. I'd rather have that than anything. Robin, everyone at restaurants call it a "wine key"...don't know the provenance, though.

Funny, wine geeks never do, and to my knowledge that includes most sommeliers. It's probably by comparison with the "church key" for beer, I would guess.

I've always called it a wine key too. I guess I picked it up from my days in the biz. I still occassionally hear the term corkscrew, but I think it's a little antiquated.

[Robin Garr]

I still occassionally hear the term corkscrew, but I think it's a little antiquated.

Maybe wine geeks are fuddy-duddies ...

I have that 2-step Old Town wine key. I'd rather have that than anything. Robin, everyone at restaurants call it a "wine key"...don't know the provenance, though.

Funny, wine geeks never do, and to my knowledge that includes most sommeliers. It's probably by comparison with the "church key" for beer, I would guess.

Well, we are not wine geeks, but merely restaurant warriors. THIS IS SPARTA!

Funny, wine geeks never do, and to my knowledge that includes most sommeliers. It's probably by comparison with the "church key" for beer, I would guess.

That's interesting. On further thought - perhaps I always hear wine key because a large portion of my friends have also worked in the biz at some point.

[Robin Garr]

That's interesting. On further thought - perhaps I always hear wine key because a large portion of my friends have also worked in the biz at some point.

Interesting that I've spent some time in both trenches, food and wine, but "corkscrew" comes naturally to me. I'm going to do a little research and poll a bunch of online wine nerds about this ... stay tuned!

Maybe wine geeks are fuddy-duddies ...

I would say quite the opposite! All the wine geeks I know are far from fuddy-duddy-ness!

The beauty of a wine is like the beauty of a debate. The acknowledgment of the distinction/difference is a beautiful difference for some and a terror for others; and maybe we are all the same--maybe we are all one. Wine, however, is alive and to be alive is to change. If there is a static truth then it has no relevance to what we know . . . wine is a way to compare and understand ourselves.

When working at Vincenzo's in the 80"s, a fellow waiter from Columbia asked,
"Can I see your wankee"? It took me a minutie to realize he was asking to see my Wine Key... what a relief.

From that point on corkscrews are known as Wankees

Well, I certainly didn't know it would be a debate about wine key v. corkscrew.

[Robin Garr]

Well, I certainly didn't know it would be a debate about wine key v. corkscrew.

It's a fun debate, though, no participants were harmed in the making of this discussion. And it's interesting to me that after having worked in both fields, at least minimally, and having been writing about this stuff since the 1980s, I hadn't really picked up on "wine key."

I've started a discussion in the other forum, where the wine geeks gather. If it catches on, I'll post a link here.

Definitely. . . I'm not sure when I started using 'wine key' it certainly wasn't from the beginning.