About a year ago, I bought my parents a fancy rabbit ears cork screw. I have one and love the ease with which it uncorks wine. I especially love the way the cork pops off the coil when you push the lever down after opening.
Alas, my parents' rabbit ears has crapped out. My father diagnosed the problem as a broken bearing and (being my father who never wastes anything) he's going to try to fix it.
So, sans rabbit ears, my parents have returned to their old standby, a French Zig Zag cork screw they bought years ago in a secondhand shop. Their Zig Zag is an antique, one of the originals produced in France in the 1920s and 1930s. It's nickel plating is flaking away, but my father insists that it should never be re-plated as that would diminish its significant value.
The key to the cork screw's design is it's accordion-like latticing that allows easy opening with a single pull. I used the cork screw to open a bottle of wine over the weekend, and it was nearly as easy and somehow slightly more aesthetically pleasing than my rabbit ears. Perhaps it's the simplicity of its quirky design compared to the supper efficient, slightly cold rabbit ears.
Makes you wonder about the French. They can design the greatest cork screw in the world, but their cars look and drive like bumper cars. C'est la vie!
Maybe it's a commentary on the French attitude about food and wine versus their feelings about cars. Clearly, cars aren't their passion!
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