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market. The first gas cork ejector, the Sparklets Corkmaster, was gone by the

1970s.

In the 1980s, the gas cork ejector found new life with Federighi

’s

improvements to his “Cork Pops.” These and air cork ejectors saw a bit of

revival but did not achieve the popularity of the earlier period. H

erb Allen’s

1981 invention of the Screwpull could be considered a major reason for cork

ejectors not taking a good market share. Allen's revolutionary corkscrew made

cork removal a simple, quick operation and quickly gained worldwide

popularity. It had a very strong foothold on a market that would soon be

inundated with many copycats. Cork ejectors had little chance for great

success.

The new millennium has seen yet another revival of the cork ejector market. A

number of patents have been issued and cork ejectors from Taiwan, Hong

Kong, and China are popping up on the world markets.