Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew Review

We purchased the Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew so our reviewer could put it to the test in their home bar. Read on for the full review.

The Bottom Line:

The Rabbit electric gets the job done with a few kinks.

Pros:

• Quick and efficient
• Compact
• Cordless

Cons: 

• Noisy
• Doesn’t always catch the corkscrew
• Easy to set off when not in use

Buy on Amazon, $47.67

Our Review

If you want a wine bottle opener that looks like a Ferrari and sounds like a power tool, I’ve found the product for you. The sleek red system (it also comes in silver and black) is about as compact as it gets, when it comes to electric wine openers, with a charging port hidden under a built-in foil remover. What points it earns in the aesthetics department, it quickly loses with the sheer volume of the motor. Lack of subtlety aside, does it get the job done?

Design: Wine Bottle Openers…in Space

I wonder what Jeffrey Bezos and Richard Branson brought on their respectives jaunts into almost-outer-space. I doubt they were popping bubbly in the stratosphere, but it's only a matter of time before we see some suborbital space yachts take flight. When we do, this wine bottle opener will be right at home in the galley. The slightly contoured body allows the opener to comfortably fit in your hand. Its shiny finish gives the device a sleek and smooth look. Overall it's a simple tool in sophisticated packaging.

Material: A Powerful Motor Wrapped in Reflective Plastic

If you have any questions about what’s hiding under the shiny red hood of the Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew, all you have to do is press one of the buttons on the bottom of the corkscrew and set the screw spinning. It won’t actually lower unless it has contact with a cork, but you can hear and feel the power of its tiny motor. A compact micro USB wall charger gives the corkscrew enough juice to open at least 30 bottles of wine on a single charge.

Performance: Works (Almost) Every Time

The key feature that sets the Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew apart from other non-manual corkscrew is its buttonless design. Rather than pressing a button to start the motor and lower the screw into the cork, a pair of sensors at the base of the device trigger the mechanism when they have contact with the bottle (or a finger). This is a clever idea in theory, but in practice the sensor doesn’t always recognize the cork, especially if enough downward pressure isn’t exerted on the device, and therefore the screw just spins without ever lowering into the cork.

Cleaning: It Practically Cleans Itself

After one failed attempt the screw did catch the cork and hold onto your hats, or, in this case, the corkscrew because the powerful device will send the bottle spinning if you’re not holding on firmly to both the bottle and the corkscrew. Once you have a handle on it, the corkscrew will do the rest of the work, removing the cork and then ejecting it back out. Other reviewers expressed similar issues with the model’s buttonless design, even adding that over time the automatic system becomes even less reliable—stopping halfway through the cork or not ejecting the cork once removed.

One of my favorite features of the Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew is the easy ejection of the cork. No more messing around with shredded corks and sharp corkscrews, while you're already pouring your first glass the Rabbit spits out the cork. The shiny finish of the plastic does pick up fingerprints, but it’s easily wiped clean.

Price: A Steep Price for a Monotasker

At $60, it’s fair to expect you're getting more for your money compared to a manual one they give away for free at vineyards and liquor stores. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case with the Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew. The main issues I had with the system were threefold. First, it’s loud. A humming engine is not the soundtrack you’re looking for when setting the mood with a bottle of wine. Second, it’s easy to accidentally trigger the sensors when not in use, bringing us back to issue number one. Lastly and most importantly, the lack of control of the corkscrew makes it an unreliable tool for the job of seamlessly opening a bottle of wine.

Competition: Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew vs. Oster Cordless Electric Wine Bottle Opener

When choosing between the Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew and Oster Cordless Electric Wine Bottle Opener (view at Amazon), you only need to ask yourself one question: who’s in charge here? Oster’s buttons allow you to control the removal and ejection of the cork while the Rabbit takes this control away from its user in favor of a more hands-free design. For me, the lack of buttons caused more problems than it solved. Where the Rabbit outshines the Oster is in its aesthetics. The sleeker body and lack of a charging station means it's easier to store, although it still takes up more space than a manual corkscrew.

Final Verdict: Technology Is Not Always Your Friend

The Rabbit Automatic Electric Corkscrew (view at Amazon) is one of those examples of technology backfiring. In an attempt to streamline the wine bottle-opening-process, they actually made it less foolproof by taking the control away from the person attempting to open the bottle of wine.

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Sarah Freeman is a food and beverage writer based in Chicago. She has been writing about restaurants and bars for the past decade—from learning about what makes a perfect piece of cocktail ice to the exploring art of beer label design.