For The Love Of Port

A friend of mine, Don Cornutt, took photos of The Durand, a not-yet-on-the-market product developed by Yves Durand. It is a combination cork screw and Ah-So which was developed by a serious wine lover because he had not found anything to adequately remove his old and long corks from his favorite bottles.

I will be testing this product over the next few weeks and will report back, but if it works half as good as it looks like it should, I think we may all have a great new tool for those ancient bottles of Vintage Port we always struggle with.

Whether ripping the center core out of an old moist cork, using an Ah-So and having a loose cork fall in the bottle ... I have never yet found the perfect device for VP corks. Have a look at these photos and let me know what you think?

http://www.pbase.com/dcornutt/the_durand

He did a nice design job. I do hope it works. Anything that makes it easier to remove old corks would be a god-send.

Certainly the lack of pulling power has always been a weak point of the Ah-So and knock-offs thereof. Just as the inability of worm-type pullers to break the bond between cork and neck is the weak point of those pullers.

That looks great! Any chance we'll be able to get them by Christmas?

I don't know the answer to that question, yet. They're not for sale at this time.

Roy Hersh wrote:They're not for sale at this time.

...oh yes they are

I filled in the form on the page linked to in my post above and recieved an email saying that the product will be available to buy online from 15 Nov and that because I had registered my interest I would receive 5% discount.

I mentioned this site in my message just so they know where the interest is coming from.

You all know what you need to do

I just filled out the form, too. Thanks for the link Derek!

Glenn E. wrote:I just filled out the form, too. Thanks for the link Derek!

Ditto. anyone know the approximate cost?

I learned earlier this evening that it is $125 USD.

I could buy a nice bottle of Port for that amount and continue on with my current devices. Just sayin'

Roy Hersh wrote:I learned earlier this evening that it is $125 USD.

In a month, Amazon will probably have it for $79.

Andy Velebil wrote:

Glenn E. wrote:I just filled out the form, too. Thanks for the link Derek!

Ditto. anyone know the approximate cost?

Yes. I received the following email (edited) when I asked them that exact question:

Mark Taylor at [url=http://www.TheDurand.com]TheDurand.com[/url] wrote:The Durand is priced at $125.00. The website should be up next week, I hope with the e-commerce link.

I did not want to mention my source w/out your permission Glenn.

It has ARRIVED.

Sweet! I can't wait to see it in action!

Roy Hersh wrote:I learned earlier this evening that it is $125 USD.

Is that direct from the manufacturer? Where is it made?

Peter W. Meek wrote:

Roy Hersh wrote:I learned earlier this evening that it is $125 USD.

In a month, Amazon will probably have it for $79.

And how long for the $19 patent-infringing version from China?

Moses - yes, that's direct from the manufacturer. I don't know where it is made (I didn't bother to look).

It's very well constructed and comes in a clever cork box with magnetic fasteners.

It's also not just a combo corkscrew/Ah-So. The Durand does appear to have a couple of other small innovations working for it. But since Roy is going to be doing a review of it, I won't spill the beans early. Sorry!

Sadly, it's way out of my price range. I had a hard time paying $50 for a Rabbit... $125 isn't priced for normal people.

Glenn E. wrote:Sadly, it's way out of my price range. I had a hard time paying $50 for a Rabbit... $125 isn't priced for normal people.

I want to design a replacement worm for the Rabbit that has a flatter wire and longer screw. I think that will grip the bottles better than what is standard on the Rabbit.