Metrokane Ti Gold Rabbit Corkscrew
The vinoscenti don't debate much about the best genre of corkscrew. It's the Rabbit, introduced by Metrokane in 2000, and its lever-operated relatives, all based on a design developed by the French company Screwpull/Le Creuset in the 1970s. Now, the best just got gilded.
Metrokane has introduced a limited-edition, titanium gold-plated version of its masterpiece, a commemorative model produced in a special run of 1,000 and priced at $200, each engraved by designer Ed Kilduff.
This glistening ülber-corkscrew is engineered using a high-tech, high-cost titanium-carbon finishing process. It works according to a simple yet durable 41-piece mechanism, based on oil-drilling technology, that makes opening wine bottles a breeze.
True, the old reliable "waiter's friend" -- the familiar folding number that requires practice to extract corks -- and various other innovative models are competitive and far more portable. But when it comes to speedily yanking cork after cork after cork…frankly, the Rabbit cannot be beat.
Once the handy foil cutter (also titanium-gold-plated) is used to slice through the capsule, all that's needed is to lock the Rabbit around the bottle's neck, then separate and squeeze together the Rabbit's ergonomic "ears." One-two. Cork out. Quickly lever the cork free of the Rabbit's spiral worm, and move on to the next bottle. And the next.
Rabbit mechanisms are reputed to be capable of 20,000 pulls before breakdown; some of the other parts less so. But this little ti gold baby looks to be virtually indestructible; we can envision an archeologist digging one up in a few millennia and giving the sucker a good pondering.
"I had always wanted to do an all-metal version," says Kilduff, 31, of Pollen Design in New York. "But when we found out we could do this die-casting process, we decided to work with the manufacturer on a limited run. I think it came out sweet."
The titanium gold-plated Rabbit comes with its own foil cutter and a clear Lucite storage case. It's available exclusively at Bloomingdale's in New York through the holiday season.
To order call 800/555-SHOP and mention 101 Item No. M485.
