65

In the December 29, 1991 issue of the

Inquirer

, Debra Nusbaum reviewed wine

bottle openers in her article "Design, Twist

and Shout." Commenting on the Corky, she

said "About 12 years ago, a whole new

model came along that said goodbye to

screws and levers, pushing and pulling. The

Corky looks as if it belongs in the dentist's

office rather than your home bar, but for

some it has removed the barrier to

satisfaction. You drive the Corky pin

through the center of the cork and into the

bottle, then holding the bottle you pump several times. Air pressure will lift the cork.

Your only real danger here is breaking the needle in the cork." Nusbaum's "about 12

years ago" pegged the Corky's birth at around 1979. In fact, it has been in production

since 1964!

The Corky is one of the most well known Swiss

cork ejectors and is sold throughout the world.

Franz Tschappu of Zurich applied for his Swiss

patent on October 18, 1963 for a

Pneumatisches

Entkorkungsgerät

. In his design, the needle is at a

right angle to the pump, which has a

reciprocating action. Tschappu's idea was that by

placing the thumb over the needle end, cork

ejection could be controlled. Swiss Patent No.

403,526 was issued November 30, 1965.

Today the Corky is still produced by Girtag AG (formerly Girsberger & Tschappu) in

Glattbrugg, a suburb to the north of Zurich. Franz Tschappu is still in the business with

his partner Otto Schwarz. Their Corky has been the most copied air cork ejector with

knock-offs coming from China, Italy, and Japan under names including Cork Jet, Cork

Lifter, Parkway Cork-Pump, and Robin Hood. When asked whether any legal action had

been taken against the manufacturers of Cork Jet, Otto Schwarz replied, "because of

extreme high costs and uncertain result, this copy of Corky was cheap-looking and

manufactured with cheap material. No serious competition for our Corky and soon out

of the market."