First off, this is a well made sturdy piece of equipment that will probably last many years. This comes at the price of weight though. This thing is solid steel and it feels like it. 5.4oz (1/3pound) doesn't sound like much but when its in you pocket and your walking fast you notice it. I'm a bartender and server so I need to keep it in my pocket and after a few weeks I've already noticed a holes forming in my pockets. Part of this is due to the pointed end opposite the opener. The handle closer to the opener is rounded and smooth but the pointed end has very angular and sharp sides and the end is fairly narrow which makes it pretty abrasive.
The knife design isn't optimal either. It's serration is to aggressive and tears the foil rather than cutting.
the bottle opener is also not optimal. I often need to rotate a beer bottle a bit and make a second bend to get the top off. The opener is a bit too short and causes the bottle top to bend at one side rather than pop off. If you fully extend the opener and use the bottle opener on the far side of the bottle tab (flip the tool over and push down on the corkscrew side of the handle)it works better but I don't want to flip it open 50x per night.
The corkscrew and lever work wonderfully. The hing mechanism on the lever works great and is well constructed. The corkscrew itself is sturdy in its hinge and has a groove on the edge that helps it slide in the cork easily.
Great for a low volume fancy wine shop where the customers need to be impressed and it sits looking pretty on the shelf when not in use. Not great for a bartender/waiter who needs fast functionality and carries it with them at all times.
This is the best wine tool I've ever owned and as a sommelier I open a lot of wine. Not only is the product great, but the customer service is top notch. Thanks again!!
Buy Prestige Coutale Sommelier - All Stainless Steel Now
This is a fantastic opener. I've used all of them, Laguiole, hand-made gorgeous models... you name it. This opener is the one I use in my wine store and after 7 months, it's still my favorite. Operates perfectly and I highly recommend it!
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After going through rabbit corkscrews and basic corkscrews, all which broke after some time, we found this amazing wine opener. It is solid and easy to use. What a breeze. Looks fancy on our bar as well. Highly recommended.
UPDATE: I am updating this review because I had to deal with the company Wine-n-Gear and their service was exceptional. After quite a bit of use, I still highly recommend this opener and if anything goes wrong with the product or your order, just know that you will be well taken care of. A+ for the product and for customer service.
UPDATE #2: I am updating my May 16, 2012 review because this corkscrew turned out to be a dud. It worked very well for the first while, but then the spring that holds in the little foil cutter broke causing the very sharp knife to fall out very dangerous. So, we contacted the sellers who replaced the corkscrew immediately (very good customer service). Unfortunately, our second corkscrew didn't even last as long as the first one before the foil cutter spring broke again. We are now using it very gingerly so as to not cut our hands every time we open wine. I do not recommend this product.
UPDATE #3: I was contacted by the vendor that the design flaw in this product has been fixed and they replaced my defective opener. I have changed my rating back to 5 stars for two reasons. #1 the product has been used every day since it was replaced and it remains in excellent shape. It's a great opener. Excellent quality. Not sure why someone didn't like the quality of it. It's durable and sleek. Heavy duty. #2 the customer service I received from the vendor, Wine-n-Gear, was exceptional. I would refer this product because I believe it's a great opener, and also because the company is great to deal with and provided excellent service. A+
Want Prestige Coutale Sommelier - All Stainless Steel Discount?
I own a Screwpull by Le Creuset Waiter's Corkscrew and enjoy it very much. If the only goal is open the bottle of wine without any trouble Screwpull is all you need it is cool and works easily. I even purchased a whole bunch of them as a small gifts. Unfortunately, utilitarian functionality is not what I wanted and I decided to spring for the different items of that variety. As long as Screwpull (and Le Creuset Waiter's Friend Corkscrew, Black as well) is just a re-branded Coutale, I wanted to have different handles and sizes with that perfect two-step mechanism, which was available under original brand Coutale. Before buying full line of openers (wooden, pocket...) I tried the one, which all stainless and here is my sad story:
1) Polish is no good for the item with the word Prestige in the title. Item has many visible edges, which supposed to be polished out. There is an unpolished spot next to the foil cutter;
2) Item comes covered with manufacturing oil and polish paste residue;
3) Item consists of 5 layers of steel and there are two clearly visible splits between the layers at the notch of the handle;
4) Foil cutter is hard to open. It is skewed and when I close the cutter, it doesn't go directly into the slot. It hits the handle instead and you have to help it with the finger to go into slot;
5) Worm opens at a wrong angle and item looks skewed, asymmetrical;
6) There are many other small defects and inconsistencies, which are difficult to describe, but they provide a lousy feel.
Altogether this make corkscrew looking screwy, which is a surprise. Probably, my perfect Screwpulls went through Srewpull's control. And it looks like neither Coutale itself or its exclusive distributor wine-n-gear cares about what the sell under Coutale brand.
Goes back to seller...
P.S. I just received a True Fabrications Deluxe Professional Corkscrew, Stainless, which is exact copy of the Coutale, so the copy has none of those defects and it costs only $12.50 a real stainless STEAL. Good job True Fabrication, shame on Coutale.
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This is a nice product at a nice price. I would buy a set again.
