Wine-related assistance required

[taimatsu]

I need help!

My father would like a wine stopper for Christmas. The criteria are: it should be cone-shaped with rubbery bits around it so it fits different-sized bottles. It should have a sturdy handle on top so it can be easily pulled out. It should not be of an 'amusing' design. It should, if possible, be shiny, and of obviously high quality.

I have Googled a lot, and I can't find anything that quite fits the bill.

The stoppers on these are good, but the tops aren't pullable enough (I think).

This looks good and sturdy but isn't the cone-shaped sort he wants.

This one looks good, is cone-shaped with rings, and is recommended by a wine maker, but I am unconvinced by the handle.

This looks pretty good, but can I get something high-quality enough from a website called supercoolgifts.co.uk?

This one has the handle but perhaps not enough rubber bits?

This one might actually be perfect except that it's in an 'amusing' design and I'm always suspicious of those.

Can anyone who drinks wine give me a hand here? Suggestions? Which look good? Which should I avoid? Any help at all is welcomed.

Comments

[j4.livejournal.com]

Nobody needs to know if the gift came from "supercoolgifts.co.uk", so don't let that put you off. Or are you just worried that it must be rubbish if it comes from somewhere with a silly name? I shouldn't worry -- IME the men's-gadgets-sites often do actually have good-quality stuff sometimes, but really, in this case, how much difference is there going to be? I really don't think there's going to be much difference between "2 rubber bits" and "400 rubber bits". It's not like a stereo system or something -- it's just a bit of rubber to stop air getting in a wine-bottle, with a more- or less-poncey bit of brushed stainless steel on top. Basically, a cork would do the job (and how much would you pay for a cork? how hi-tech is it? ans: not much) but these things look a bit nicer.

Anyway, if he wants cone-shaped, handled and non-amusing, several of those seem to me to meet the bill -- I'd probably go for either the "supercoolgifts" one, or the Ernst and Julio Gallo one from cookinstyle.co.uk.