THE WAITER’S KEY: 4 REASONS WHY IT'S THE BEST WAY TO OPEN A BOTTLE OF WINE & WHY YOU NEED ONE. NOW.
If you know me at all, you will know that I have one must-have fashion accessory. My Waiter’s Wine Key. I always carry one in my purse in case I need to open a spare bottle of wine - or even bottle of soda - in my travels, and you would be amazed at how many times I’ve actually ended up using it.
I highly recommend everybody who reads this pick one up as soon as they can. Yes, there’s a bit of a learning curve with the key, but once you learn how to use it you’ll never want to use anything else. Trust me.
Be sure to check out this link if you want a tutorial on my Instagram of how to properly open a bottle of wine with your new Waiter’s Key. And now, without further ado, let’s get into why Waiter’s Keys are the best possible option for opening a bottle of wine.
REASON 1: WAITER’S KEYS ARE INEXPENSIVE
There are many different types of wine openers. There’s the good old fashioned, handy dandy Wing Corkscrew, the electric wine opener (cuz ooh you fancy with your big tech) the Durand for fragile corks, the Twist-And-Pull, and many others.
Here’s the reality: Waiter’s Keys are the least expensive out of all other wine openers. A Durand will cost you a pretty penny, typically running $150.00 or more. An Electric Wine Opener like a Rabbit Pro will cost you approximately $100.00, and a regular Rabbit will cost you around $50.00 of your heard-earned cash.
Wing Corkscrews are among the more economically friendly options, and you can purchase one at around the $20.00 price range. But I personally believe the best value is the Waiter’s Key.
Waiter’s Keys are typically the cheapest, as many can be purchased for $10.00 or less. They are also great because they come in packs for those who like to buy in bulk. So for the price of one Wing Corkscrew, you could spend $12.99 but get 4 different Waiter’s Keys for quadruple the fun.
REASON 2: WAITER’S KEYS ARE THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO OPEN A BOTTLE OF WINE
The most common wine opener I see at friends’ houses, my parent’s house is the Wing Corkscrew. It looks like this:
Like, seriously, wtf is this? Some kind of dentist’s tool from the 1800s? Do you really want to open a bottle of wine with something that looks like a medical tool from an era when doctors were telling patients to do cocaine for their ailments? Like for real? Just a thought—
Though it’s fairly easy to use, the Wing Corkscrew is by far not the most efficient way to open a bottle of wine. Loads of wine bottles have foil capsules that cover the cork, and unless you have a foil cutter, you’re going to have to peel the foil off the bottle or - god forbid - pierce that puppy with your winged corkscrew.
I don’t know if you’ve ever attempted to do this, but using your Wing Corkscrew through a foil capsule is definitely not the easiest or most efficient way to open a bottle of wine.
This is where the beauty of a Waiter’s Key comes in to play. Waiter’s Keys have a knife built in so you can run the blade along the lip of the bottle to remove the foil. All you have to do is then rely on the lever system to open the wine once you’ve pierced the cork. Easy peasy.
REASON 3: WAITER’S KEYS ARE TRAVEL-SIZED
Are you constantly on the go? A Waiter’s Key the perfect traveling companion because that shit fits in your purse, suitcase or what-have-you.
Waiter’s Keys are all about minimalism. They’re small, light, and ergonomic which makes them perfect for folks who like to travel a lot and want to open a bottle of wine when they’re out and about.
REASON 4: IT’S STYLISH AF WAY TO OPEN A BOTTLE OF WINE
When you get a basic handle on opening a bottle of wine with a Waiter’s Key, you just sort of look like you know what you’re doing. And there’s a sort of swagalicious quality about it.
I’ve had friends who knew me before working in the Wine Industry and after I learned how to use a Waiter’s Key, I could trick them into thinking I knew a thing or two about wine. Basically, opening a bottle of wine with a Waiter’s Key looks cool if you know how to do it. You look sophisticated and baller AF.
I mean, sure, it’s not as swagalicious as knowing how to Sabre Champagne, that’s a whole different level, BUT it’s like a baby version of that.
HOW TO USE A WAITER’S WINE KEY:
Take out the knife portion of the key, and use it to cut the edge of the foil along the lip of the bottle.
Remove the foil from the neck of the bottle, leaving the top of the cork exposed.
Pierce the cork with the worm - that’s the name for the corkscrew - ideally at a slight angle.
Twirl the corkscrew all the way until you’ve left the first helix exposed.
Using the lever system, put the first notch at the lip of the bottle and hold it in place; gently lever the handle to pull the cork half way out of the bottle.
Using the second notch, lever the rest of the cork out of the bottle.
Voila! You’ve just used a Waiter’s Key.
It takes time to master the Key. But trust me, once you’ve figured it out you’re not going to want to open a bottle of wine any other way. Cheers, Thurstqueen!