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Forge de Laguiole CorkscrewsOpen the bottle in French |
Tire-bouchon—that’s what you’re allowed to call it if you’ve got one of these beauties. Laguiole is the name of the village in Auvergne, France, where classic cutlery has been made since the 15th century.
Forge de Laguiole Corkscrews
Laguiole, $225 to $294
Just out of curiosity, what makes these so expensive?
Tradition, craftsmanship, quality, and over time, the sum of these traits have contributed to it's name, which prob. caries the bulk of that price (all IMHO). It functions well and fits in your hand nicely. There are different designs, and some work better than others. Low prices are a dead giveaway to 'cheaper' versions. I am no expert by any means, but supposedly there cutlery is better than there corkscrews.
But whatever, most cheap no-name corkscrews work fine.
That's a really nice corkscrew. For the price, I'll take the 6 dollar corkscrew from IKEA that everyone at work raves about (my one quibble is that I wish the worm was a little thinner, the rest of it is just perfect) and a couple of the other really nice french import... wine.
I got a Laguiole corkscrew at a French Importer in SF with a beautiful wood handle for $40, but the "bite" that rests on the edge of the bottle before you pry out the cork is shaped badly and often slips off the edge. I don't know if this was a mistake, and explains the low price, or if this is endemic to some of the new laguiole products--make sure if you do get one you check what the angle and depth of the "bite" looks like compared to a generic, tried and true corkscrew!
Apparently, the "Laguilole" name is not trademarked, so many items masquerading as these wildly expensive French gems are nothing of the sort. Clotilde from Chocolate & Zucchini recommends only buying Laguiole goods from very reputable dealers that can prove the provenance of the item.
By and large, though, I'm with JK- I'll take my $5 Joie corkscrew (really nicely made), and spend the rest on throwing a gourmet picnic with all of my friends. Some folks just have *too much* disposable cash...