Olivier Poels 5:40 p.m., June 20, 2022

For centuries, wine traveled in jars and then in wooden barrels.

But in the 17th century came the revolution: the glass bottle.

At first, it is blocked by a small piece of wood wrapped in burlap.

But it will be replaced by a cork stopper.

It was the English - wine lovers and consumers - who were the first to invent the corkscrew: a small tendril directly inspired by firearm worms, used to unclog musket barrels.

In 1795, Reverend Samuel Henshall filed the first corkscrew patent.

His model, which has a steel rod, a handle and a metal disc between the two, will be used for more than a century.

In 1882, what is called the sommelier was born in Germany, a corkscrew in the shape of a knife, with a bottle opener and a lever system.

Then came a whole series of other innovations, the bi-blade, the screwpull… and the Coravin, which allows you to empty a bottle without removing the cork.