Durand and old port corks

[Andy Velebil]

You can't imagine how much it hurts to say this but Andy & Roy you were right I got a full cork out

tonite by being slow-thanks.

glad it worked out for ya! Now, what did you open?

[John Vachon]

!970 Taylor.

[Andy Velebil]

!970 Taylor.

Very nice. How'd it show?

[John Vachon]

Very well-I find the 70 T's to be very consistent-one of my favorite port to drink now.

[Roy Hersh]

Thrilled it all worked out John!

[John Vachon]

Roy: Thanks

David & andy: Was unsure of the different pressure idea but tonite with a 70 T I got a hiss-thanks for your advice-

I must admit with 40+ experence I was surprised.

[Andy Velebil]

You can't imagine how much it hurts to say this but Andy & Roy you were right I got a full cork out

tonite by being slow-thanks.

[John Trombley]

This thread is a little long in the tooth, but a person on the Squires Bulletin Board Wine Talk was seen to write that Roy Hersh had Durands made with an extra-long corkscrew and that the same is available through him. Is there any truth to this rumor?, Roy? I'm one of those who still can't seem to use the Durand without leaving a disc of cork in the neck of the bottle quite often, no matter how patient I am. Since it's getting about time to replace my screw anyway because of Teflon loss (I use it for everything, not just old bottles) perhaps I can just buy the screw part, or get a new complete one if that's the only way they come.

[John Trombley]

Roy, would the board like some good Durand news? Dr. Mark Taylor has a website which has no phone numbers but does have an email contact system, promising a quick answer, and guess what, wonder of wonders, had a reply well within 24 hours. I asked about 2 things, relevant to what's here on the thread.

1. I told him that after a year-plus of use, the screw is losing the teflon on its tip, degrading performance a bit. This seemed too quickly to be happening to such a well-made item.

Response: Mark is sending me a fresh half-Durand to replace what's worn. Wants the old one so he can see what happens to one in regular use. Engineer type. You know. Planned un-obsolescence. Henry Ford did this kind of thing, but backwards.

2. Asked about available long-screw Durands.

Response: He HAS several 1/4-inch longer screws, at about 2.75 (2 and 3/4) inches, and will be glad to sell them. By the way, doesn't believe, like some folks here, that it will really make a difference in flascum Portii. Don't order them till after the holidays, as you won't get his usual prompt service, ahem. And--wait for me to get mine before you order! Roy, is this something that goes on the commercial page? Any chance that the commercial part of you might like to buy up these few that are left? I tried to get Rare Wine Company, Chris, interested in this, but two or three phone calls later I see they are happy with selling the shorter one. Don't think he even took a minute to mention it to Mannie. Don't know license information, and so forth; you'd know.

Right from the equus buccum. Whew, always get stuck in my pig Latin phase when I do this. Think horse is fourth declension, but don't have time to look it up.

Actually I think it should be ex equi oris, and 'bucca' is 'cheek,, feminine, not mouth. Struck out on all counts, and for any who think I'm yielding to a temptation to smart off, you can see I may be more likely just indulging in a storm of intellectual sadism. Haul away!!

[Glenn E.]

I would like one, too, if we do some sort of bulk order.

[John Danza]

I would like one, too, if we do some sort of bulk order.

I would be up for getting a longer one too. A little more length never hurt anyone (sorry, couldn't help myself).

[John Trombley]

I would be up for getting a longer one too. A little more length never hurt anyone (sorry, couldn't help myself).

It's entirely OK, just as long as you don't use THAT to take something out of THAT OTHER.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

A CAUTION, because I've seen how complicated and negative-energy something like this can turn into!

I hope everyone understands that this is all pretty speculative at this point, and that we haven't heard either from Roy or from the maker, with whom there may be licensing issues. The distribution chain seems pretty restricted; whether that's by contract agreement or because of something else none of us knows. Mark DID tell me that he didn't mind my mentioning this here.

[Phil W]

I would like one, too, if we do some sort of bulk order.

I would also be keen to obtain one, if possible. As I'm UK based, rather than any complication for the seller with payment or shipping, would appreciate if mine could go to Glenn if he would be willing? (assuming I will hopefully see him in London in Sept and would therefore be able to settle/exchange then)

[Glenn E.]

would appreciate if mine could go to Glenn if he would be willing?

I'd be happy to receive yours for future delivery.

[Phil W]

I'd be happy to receive yours for future delivery.

Thank you.

[Phil W]

I hope everyone understands that this is all pretty speculative at this point,
...
Mark DID tell me that he didn't mind my mentioning this here.

Understood, of course; many of us are engineers with enquiring minds as well port geeks, so happy to take part in R&D testing (which should not worry the distributor - quite the opposite, really). We also understand it may not happen or be possible, but better to raise our hands now to indicate interest and encouragement in case :)

[John Trombley]

Thanks for the clarification, Phil. Just got a little worried there; felt like I had started something uncontrollable.

[Moses Botbol]

I broke my Durand, but they sent me another one right away. Great customer service.

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks to John for bringing this thread back to my attention. Many years ago, when Mark was first developing The Durand, he approached me after a close mutual friend told him of FTLOP and the quantity of Port bottles that get opened by me and others here. He knew Port corks were about the trickiest of all when old or ancient, and asked me to be a beta tester and if I liked the device, would I provide a testimonial. I loved it and wrote the very first testimonial for a website he was creating. It is now buried in a hard to find spot as so many others came afterwards.

As Mark has become a good friend over the years, we talked about a 1/4" longer worm and he made a small run of those and I was able to obtain a half dozen, maybe 5 years ago. I emailed Mark and asked if:
a. he could ship overseas
b. how best for people to order the Durand with a 1/4" longer worm for FTLOP folks
c. how many of those he currently has in stock

As soon as he responds, I will post his reply with pertinent information. I expect this to be within the next 12-48 hours.

For the record, I've never sold these for him. My involvement was in thoroughly testing on a bunch of Port bottles with long corks, magnums too, Madeira, old German and Bordeaux bottles as well and writing the aforementioned testimonial. Period.

Here was my original report:


Roy Hersh – For the Love of Port
Over the past few weeks, I have used the Durand, a brilliantly designed device, for extracting the most challenging of corks. I have put it through several difficult tasks, from old magnums to young and old Vintage Ports to a crusty old and potentially crumbly Madeira cork and a slew of other bottles.

I found the Durand easy to use, with the worm perfectly created in terms of the width and length, not to mention the Teflon coating, all of which helps to maximize the potential for raising the cork without ripping through the center, like many corkscrews will do with older, delicate corks. The length of Bordeaux and Port corks is easily handled by the Durand, which is not typically the case with most hand held devices.

I did not have a single cork break or crumble while using this tool and would highly recommend this to any serious wine collector who is looking for a fool-proof device for removing even the most stubborn corks. Old vintage Port corks came out the first time, whole and without crumbling thanks to the double-duty corkscrew and Ah-So features working in tandem making this such a unique and welcome new product.

The only issue I had in using the Durand was when finding a very snug cork, it was difficult to pull both the stabilizer bar and handle simultaneously, at least initially. Otherwise, this is a well-crafted and extremely solid product that will delight those who know the drudgery from having waged battle while removing the most obstinate or ancient corks.

Roy Hersh
Founder
http://www.fortheloveofport.com

[Bradley Bogdan]

I think Roy's review is spot on. I received one for Christmas this year and have loved it, after trying his out opening bottles at an FTLOP tasting. The only other quibble I'd add is that one of the VPs I opened (of course I don't remember which now) had a slightly narrower neck, which makes the ah-so portion of the tool tough to use, but even still, this is now easily the best wine related tool I own (and probably will ever own).


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