The opener worked on normal cork on a bottle of good beer. The cork was already half way out of the bottle, so I think it made it a lot easier, but when I used it on a synthetic cork on a bottle of wine all the way in the neck of the bottle, it woudln't go in straight. After I got the synthetic cork out, I found it pushed to the side. The cork wasn't even on the screw. It had pushed the screw aside and ripped one of the wires out. The screw is not very sturdy or secure. I'm going to go back to a traditonal man-powered win opener. Good ole' steel is better than whaterever connects the screw to the motor in this thing.