We’ve had some commenters wonder aloud recently why new multitools tend not to incorporate a corkscrew. Well this one’s for those commenters and any other vino lovers who demand a corkscrew in their pocket. Leatherman’s latest Garage-developed limited edition, the new Picnic tool lives up to its name with a proper waiter-style leveraged corkscrew and five additional tools designed for picnics, tailgates, camp cookouts and other culinary affairs held away from home in the great outdoors.
According to statistics from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and Alcohol.org, beer represents over 40 percent of total US alcohol consumption in a given year, the most of any category of alcoholic beverage. Wine, on the other hand, consists of just 17 percent. And though beer consumption has decreased in recent decades, while wine consumption has risen, beer remains more popular.
Beyond mere total consumption, more American drinkers opt for beer over wine. Gallup's 2025 Consumption Survey revealed that 38 percent of US drinkers cite beer as their drink of choice while 29 percent cite wine. The split further deepens among male drinkers to 53 percent to 23 percent in favor of beer.
With those types of stats in mind, it’s not all that surprising that many multitools sold in the US tend to have a bottle opener but not a corkscrew. In fact, annual US beer consumption peaked in 1981, two years before the first Leatherman launched (with a bottle opener).
Beyond the likelihood of proving more useful in the field, the bottle opener also lends itself well to a slim, flat format that takes up no more space than a blade and can be turned into a multitool itself, incorporating a flathead screwdriver, pry or can opener in a single-piece construction.
That said, we do agree that the corkscrew is a handy tool to have, potentially much handier than the bottle opener, especially in an ever-evolving market in which nearly 64 percent of beer is sold in cans versus just 27 percent in glass bottles (some of which are twist off). When you need a corkscrew, you need it, and it’s easy to forget to bring along on trips. We’re well aware because we have a drawer full of old corkscrews that we purchased on road trips and vacations because we forgot to pack one.
While a simple Bic lighter flip and myriad other methods can easily pop a bottle cap, uncorking a wine bottle without an opener can be trickier (and messier), most easily performed with other tools you might not have available when traveling or adventuring.
With the new Garage Batch #010 Picnic, Leatherman makes up for the lack of corkscrews on so many of its existing and historical multitools all at once. Instead of just integrating the basic fold-out corkscrew you find on select Swiss Army knives and other common multitools, a tool that requires a dead pull of the cork, the Picnic has the type of leveraged corkscrew you'd find on a waiter's tool.
Burrow the worm into the cork and rest the tooth of the hinged assist arm on the bottle's spout edge to use it as a lever to pull the cork smoothly out. It’s a simple, timeless tool more elegant to use than an awkward multitool T-handle when pouring a nice bottle of wine under the warm, flickering light of the “candle” setting of your camp lantern.
It’s a little odd that Leatherman doesn't integrate a bottle opener into the leverage arm, the way a typical corkscrew of this type does. Instead, it installs a separate flat bottle opener with pry tip inside the Picnic chassis. That's a bit redundant - all it really needed to do was curve the corkscrew lever arm tooth enough to grip the edge of a bottle cap and it’d have space for a whole different tool inside the chassis.
But it wouldn’t be a multitool if there wasn’t something to question or complain about.
Next, Leatherman installs a sheepsfoot blade purposefully shaped for working like a small kitchen utility knife. It’s aimed at tasks like neatly cutting up deli meats and cheeses at your picnic or campsite. The blade includes slip-joint operation for secure use.
You might expect Leatherman to round things out with a toothpick and/or can opener, but instead it ensures the Picnic has at least a bit of everyday utility by installing a large bit holder as the final tool. Owners can ultimately drop in whatever bits they want, but the tool comes with a dual-sided Phillips #1/2 and 3/16-in slotted driver bit. Leatherman uses the example of tightening a screw on a wobbly picnic table to tie the bit tool into the Picnic theme, but the implement really seems far handier for EDC purposes than for serving or eating meals in the great outdoors.
US$135 is more than we'd ever spend on a glorified waiter's corkscrew, but Leatherman never seems to have trouble clearing out its limited-edition Garage Batch tools. In fact, the #10 release sold out in a matter of days. That said, buyers can still get their hands on the collaboration Rumpl Stash Mat picnic blanket and 12-oz North Drinkware Mount Hood plastic tumblers Leatherman partnered up on for the greater Picnic set.
Leatherman announced the Picnic less than a week ago, so maybe the quickness with which it sold out will inspire it to launch a more complete multitool equipped with a corkscrew, something like the picnic-oriented Flair it retired years back. Until then, wine lovers will have to shop the numerous Victorinox Swiss Army pocket knife multitools with corkscrew or the Leatherman-like plier-based tools with one in tow from alternative brands like SOG.
Source: Leatherman
