Vacu Vin Winemaster

I bought this as a spare, just in case the one I have been using for the last 6 years were to break and I then could not find a replacement. I have used lots of different wine bottle openers over the… years, both before and after this purchase (even using a screwdriver in a pinch). I have little problem with any of them (actually, the screwdriver doesn't work very well), but this has been the very best. It has one weakness - the prongs on the foil-cutter tend to break such that the cutter no longer stays attached to the top of the corkscrew. This is no big deal. It's also the best foil-cutter I ever used and a replacement can be ordered. The Vacu Vin is most similar to the Rabbit products, but works a lot better. Snap down and it is attached to the bottle. Pull down small levers and cork is screwed. Pull down large levers and cork is removed. Return levers to starting position and cork pops out of device. Simple, quick, and easy. Although I bought it as a backup for myself, I may gift it this Xmas - it would make a classy gift.

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I really thought I was ready for it. Other reviewers have commented clearly on how this thing works. It is very clearly labeled and the instructions, while brief, are straightforward. That first cork was… obviously not going to be a problem. That little shroud at the bottom came down smartly and seemed to get a good grip on the bottle. Sadly, the instructions hadn't commented on its secondary function as a self-destruct arming mechanism. The smaller levers easily pushed the screw into the cork. Then I pushed down the larger levers, but just as they reached the bottom of their travel, we heard a resounding "crack" and little bits of plastic flew everywhere. The Vacu Vin then concluded that it wasn't leaving the bottle. Those flying bits of plastic must have had something to do with its release function. Five minutes of wiggling and futz later, we had coerced the Vacu Vin off, and it was willing to surrender the cork. I had a nice glass of Chardonnay while clicking through the return process on Amazon. I hope the refund is as prompt as the initial delivery, and that if you try this gadget, you fare better than we did. We ordered a couple of others at the same time. That cheap little $20 Oster electric is turning out to be a great value, and the Pinzon is OK, too.

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Okay, no fooling around. This gadget is fun to use. It's quick to learn, easy to handle, and ... well ... makes me want to open bottles of wine! So far, it's done everything I was hoping it would do. I… saw one in use behind a bar in wine country, and thought it looked fun, and sufficiently "guy toy" enough that I could have one just for the fun of it. I was right. It is cool. But I laughed out loud when I read the warranty. There is simply no possibility that anyone, anywhere, at any time could take advantage of the warranty for this product. You would have better luck solving a Rubic's Cube with your feet while blindfolded than you would complying with their warranty jibberish. So what's that warranty say? First, you must fill in, tear off and mail the last page of the instruction booklet to Vacu Vin's headquarters ... in the Netherlands. Oh, and you have to do that "within 4 weeks" though they don't say if that is within 4 weeks of purchase, 4 weeks of receipt, or 4 weeks of discovering a defect with the product. And you must include a copy, but not the original, of the receipt showing when and where it was purchased. So far, so good. You read ahead, filled it out, mailed it to the Netherlands (grumbled about postage, because you can't send it by e-mail), with photocopied receipt all within 4 weeks in case your new guy toy suddenly lost its gleam. Smart. But now you busted your new cork puller trying to yank a stubborn cork from an oversized bottle. What do you do to take advantage of the warranty rights you diligently preserved in those first 4 weeks? Well, for starters, I hope you saved a copy of that page you sent to the Netherlands, because it has Vacu Vin's address on it. So you did save a copy? Good. You need to carefully package up your broken WineMaster with -- this is great -- the "original receipt." It seems they didn't keep the photocopy of the receipt you sent them in the "first 4 weeks." Now they want the original; better hope it's not wrinkled. But let's assume you dig that receipt out of the recycle bin or the bottom of your odd receipts drawer and put it with your carefully packaged WineMaster so you can ship them both to the Netherlands (postage grumble again). What does Vacu Vin do when they receive it? For starters, they get to decide if you used it other than in accordance with their instructions (which voids their excellent warranty so don't even think of it). No problem there; you just pulled a stubborn cork from a big bottle. But if they decide you were at fault, no dice. Okay, so perhaps they are feeling benevolent, or maybe they are simply amazed that you have made it this far through the corn maze of instructions they laid for you, and they decide it might possibly not have been your fault. Now they will carefully examine your busted WineMaster to see if they think it can be fixed. If they determine that it can, lucky you, they will attempt to fix it. They don't, of course, say what they will do with it at that point. Perhaps you need to travel to the Netherlands to pick it up, with a certified copy of the receipt and all the remaining pages of your booklet plus a photo ID. Or maybe you were supposed to send a FedEx label for return postage? They don't say. And since it's unlikely anyone will ever get that far, I suppose it doesn't really matter. So what happens if it can't be fixed? Well, no mention of that either. But I am guessing it gets no easier at this point. If they determine they can't fix it, you're out of luck. Probably stripped down for parts to fix others -- if there are others. Will they notify you? Who knows. Will they send your busted WineMaster back to you -- at your expense? No idea. Or you could just order a new one from Amazon.com for thirty-eight bucks and skip the trouble (and postage). So far, this thing works great for me. But I have to admit I am treating it very carefully, lest I have to explain to someone in the Netherlands how I broke it. My Dutch ain't so good these days.

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