Durand is ridiculously good

Two older bottles this week where I couldn’t find my good waiters corkscrews so I used one of those two arm things and the screw isn’t very long. Both corks broke in half and the top half was pulverized into spongy dust from age. Both times I put in the Durand AFTER I had made a complete mess of things and both times the rest of the old crumbly structurally compromised cork came out in one piece. Amazing.

I agree!
First major experience last weekend with a bunch of Ports and Italians from the 50s and 60s and every cork was no problem (one broke but recovered easily)

it is simply worth the money. every tasting we do there is at least one problem cork. Durand cleans up the mess.

Dollar for dollar some of the best wine related money I’ve ever apent

+1 to all if the above.

Love my Durand- wouldn’t think of opening a bottle over 30yrs without using it.An essential addition to anyone interested in owning and opening older wines. Why don’t you guys use it initially versus just using it to save a bad situation ?

Well do you use it on every bottle?
None of the bottles I needed to save were over 30. And none of the corks looked problematic.

When I do see a cork that may present an issue i grab the durand right away. But at that point even a regular ah-so is probably enough. The best part for me has been the ability to cleanly extract a broken cork. The rest - a good waiters key or ah-so can manage in half the time

+1, anyone who collects wine for any amount of time really really needs one of these.

Same thing last weekend on a 1999 Kalin Semillon, the last 3/4" broke off way down in the neck and I easily recovered with the Durand.

Yup, I use it on older wines every time now, and it’s amazing. Money very well spent. Several times, I have also seen it somehow get a small bit of crumbly cork out in one piece after another corkscrew made a mess of it.

Because I keep forgetting I have it. I’ve used mine a total of three times.

I love mine. Great value (and I never thought I would say that when I bought it). I gave one to one of my favorite somms as a holiday gift. Yes, it is that good!

That’s $45 per pull!

I am right there with ya. When I pull the capsule and its significantly soaked, I grab the durand. Also, I use it for anything older than 20 yrs. Totally worth the money.

It is a great device and although it is vastly overpriced when considering the materials and engineering involved, it is a bargain when considering what it does for you. Yes, it is ridiculously priced, but it is a terrific value. Not inconsistent

I sent all of the comments here to my friend Mark who is the inventor. His daughter Janet is the marketer for the device. I like it too. The components are made in Germany so that has made it a little expensive versus China or other areas. That is a decision Mark made to maintain quality of the metal and the worm. I know he appreciates all your comments here. Thanks!

Yes, crazy price but I received one for Christmas this last year! While I don’t use it often, it has come in very handy and I expect to use it more in the future as my wines mature.

Hard to justify when you can achieve the same effect with an Ah-So and a long wormed corkscrew for $20.

Me and one of my tasting groups used the same technique, but we all liked the elegance of the Durand. The ah-so/broken down long worm technique got phased out.

Not disputing it’s a nice bit of kit. Just not so sure about the price Maybe they’ll bring out a cheaper version eventually. For my mind it’s a $79.95 type product not the $170 it sells for in Australia. And that’s coming from someone who does open a lot of 30+ y.o wines.

We really need to get together with some bottles for your Durand!