Do you use a fancy wine opener? There are so many different types available these days, including electric wine openers. I have a corkscrew, and it works just fine. I do like the way some of these other ones look, and they sound cool, but it's just not something I would spend extra money to purchase. Well, maybe I would buy one for a gift. Something like that could make a nice gift.
I have quite a few corkscrews (I find that they come bundled with wine gift sets all the time with glasses as well), and they do the job just fine. In fact lots of new wines nowadays don't even have cork stoppers, they simply use plastic caps now...
I have a basic corkscrew and whilst the fancy versions certainly look good, I couldn't justify the price, considering I don't buy wine very often. They could make a great gift for wine buffs though.
Whether you want to buy a wine opener for personal use or as a gift, stay away from electric wine openers unless you or your recipient have some sort of physical impairment that prevents you from exerting effort on normal corkscrews. The electric ones are just a waste of money if not for that purpose. A traditional corkscrew makes for a great gift and is all you need to open a good bottle of wine. Also don't skimp out on the price and but the plastic kind. These typically break the easiest. Go for the wood or metal handle kind, and if possible check the quality of the corkscrew steel. I've had a couple of cheap ones that have completely split in the middle.
I like the ones with levers as that works the best for me. I have used the basic ones, but you need a steady hand and to position it correctly so not great to use when you've already drunk a bottle. I would love a fancy electric one, but so far I can't really see the need. It would have to come as a gift because they are too expensive for what they are right now.
I think the wine is waaaaay more important & way more focused on than the thing I use to open it. If I'm having a party I doubt they'd care if I opened the bottle with a shoe & a wall let alone a fancy corkscrew. I understand it could be a nice housewarming gift but I'd rather get pot holders (which are more useful honestly) than I would an expensive corkscrew. Or just bring more wine?
This is the wine opener I have. I also have the corkscrew, at times that one is hard to screw down into the cork or the cork breaks before I finish pulling it out of the bottle so I invested in this one. Plus it looks sexy.
