I was wrong.
While no one knows who the inventor of corkscrews were, it is believed they were the result of a similar tool, a gun worm (a tool with a spiral end used to clean guns or extract stuck bullets).
Not sure how someone made the jump from cleaning guns to popping the cork, but I’m sure you wine drinkers are very glad they did. I don’t much care for the stuff myself.
Anyhow, an English chap did register the first patent for a corkscrew in 1795, and corks were used to seal not only wine bottles, but smaller bottles as well. (Think perfume, medicinal, cosmetic) There were mini versions of corkscrews for those.
My hubby has an antique hand drill that resembles a giant corkscrew. Now that would open a mighty big bottle of wine!
Check out these resources I used for more information.
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa122000a.htm
http://www.winemag.com/Web-2010/Coveting-Corkscrews/
