The opener we own has been Brian's for about 9 years. ( I bought it for him as a gift - wink wink) He was drinking wine at the time...so I thought it was a nice gift. Who would have thought it would become mine someday too ;-) Ours is from Brookstone and came in a nice fancy box, where we still store it... and it looks and works just as good as the day we bought it. I went on their website and found one that looks comparable, but I bet these days it doesn't come in the nice fancy storage box. Any "lever opener" like this really will do...but I have been impressed with the quality of ours. The "rabbit" brand makes a similar opener and can be slightly cheaper on amazon.
http://www.brookstone.com/3-piece-deluxe-wine-pull-key-corkscrew?bkiid=SearchResults|CategoryProductList|749396p
However.....those cheapy openers I referenced. Well. You do need to know how to use those too...BLECK. When you go to someone's house, that a) might be all they have or b) you could save the day if you whip one out of your purse or pocket to get that wine opened...QUICKLY. I can't tell you how many times I wound up with a broken cork or the cork stuck in the bottom of the bottle when using one of those traditional openers....but the trick is all in the angle and making sure you start off in the center of the cork. Here is a quick and easy little video to show you how....
Still looking for more reviews? I found the following site to be useful... I also love how they share the same passion for lever openers. I think they are truly the best! http://www.consumersearch.com/wine-openers/best-wine-openers
