Bear in mind that form cannot exist without function here – after all, what use is a stylish implement if we can’t uncork our wine with it?

From a functional perspective, one of our favourites for the speed with which you can open a bottle is the Metrokane Rabbit. It works well and comes with a foil cutter as well as an extra “worm”. The problem is that it wouldn’t be classed as the most stylish implement in our utensil drawer. So if you need to open 30 bottles in a back room, this is the tool, but if you are ceremoniously uncorking a Methuselah in front of 30 people, try one of our other favourites below.

A cult favourite of ours from the 1990s is the Alessi Anna G – available in many variants and so popular it spawned a family of products, and even a successor, the Alessandro M.

For pure simplicity, a Sommelier Knife (or waiter’s friend) corkscrew is simple, effective and eminently portable. One of our favourite designs is the Chateau Laguiole Stainless Steel version.

When it comes to style and substance, our hands-down favourite has to be the “fish-style”, immortalized as either the “Lazyfish” or the Pisces corkscrew. This is effective at opening your favourite bottle, and always serves as a great talking point.