What would wine be without corkscrews at least until screw tops got mainstream?
Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how dexterous you are with a corkscrew ('tirebouchon'), there are still wines with cork to save them from sudden death.
In the future when corks might all be a thing of the past, you will always have the Corkscrew Museum to remind you of olden days.
To give us a little background here's what I learned from them
corkscrews were almost certainly English, although the oldest one in
the museum is French, dating from the end of the XVIIth century.
The very first corkscrews were simple instruments, normally in the
shape of a "T", the only problem being the physical force required to
pull the cork.
Until
the introduction of commercial factories in the late XIXth and early
XXth century all corkscrews were made by blacksmiths and jewellers.
They were the only people with the metalworking skills needed to make
articles from metal. The best blacksmiths were indeed craftsmen as is
clear from the items they made."
This Corkscrew Museum displays 1000 and 1 and more Corkscrews dating back to the 17th Century thanks to Domaine de la Citadelle in Meberbes, Luberon.
Another stop, another pilgrimage to make for wine lovers, call it an excuse to go sideways.