The corkscrew in the 17th and 18th centuries

This book contains 220 pages, 133 illustrations and maps, a general chronology, and hundreds of bibliographic references. It tells the story of the conquest of the West by this instrument that revolutionized the marketing and consumption of wine.

Many works have been dedicated to corkscrews from the 19th and 20th centuries, their technical characteristics, patents, manufacturers, but none had focused particularly on the period from their invention in the 1630s until the turn of the 19th century, a time when patent systems were established, making documentation more easily accessible.

Supported by collectors and academic friends, the author spent several years searching for the oldest verifiable traces of corkscrews in the Western world of the 17th and 18th centuries, consulting old dictionaries, expedition accounts, court poems and songs, genre paintings, until establishing the chrono-geography of the spread of this instrument.

The goal of this project was to create, if not the definitive work, at least a comprehensive work of references for collectors and researchers, wine professionals and enthusiasts, and more broadly, anyone interested in the world of wine and it has succeeded!