149

Remove the seal. Sometimes you'll find that there is no cork under the seal, just a screw

cap. In that case put the Cork Jet back in the drawer, forget about the points that

follow, and enjoy your wine.

And after the Cork Jet is poised for action…

After two or three strokes the cork will begin to emerge from the bottle. This is an

impressive and awe inspiring sight. You will enjoy it anew with every bottle.

In instructions for Sparklets Corkmaster, British Oxygen makes a good point in saying

one should not "attempt to open partially filled" bottles. Obviously this would result in

excessive, and perhaps non-productive, gas consumption in gas ejectors and futile

strokes on the air pump models. So if you are not going to finish your bottle of wine,

decant the remainder, use an easily removed stopper, or re-insert the cork leaving

enough out to grip with your teeth for extraction later.

If you can't get it right the first time, the Swiss Cork-Boy instructions outline the

operation concluding with "This ensures economical and smooth operation" but… "If

the cork should not ease out at once, repeat the procedure."

In an early form of needle exchange, Stero Chemical offered, "If you should break

needle [on Cork Pops], send 50¢ for needle replacement assembly."

Eject-A-Cork reminds us: "Like batteries for your flashlight, CO2 cartridges are also

inexpensive, and you should keep a supply on hand."

Spong offers "One Final Word" on the Corkette instructions: "Not all corks are in tip-

top opening condition - some have grown dry from being stored upright and others

have rotted. When this condition occurs nothing will open a bottle of wine successfully.

Just do your best and be thankful (as we are) that only 6 in 100 corks are affected."