How to Open a Bottle of Wine with No Corkscrew at Hand

What can we do if there is wine to drink but no dedicated tools to open the bottle? Well, you can’t predict all possible situations in life so sometimes you just need to improvise.

This article contains a few effective hints about how to open your bottle of wine with no corkscrew around.

This method is a little risky, but if you have some time, it should work well.

You need two thick towels or blankets.

• Wrap the bottom of the bottle with the towel or blanket.

• Gently hit the bottom of the bottle against the wall.

• Keep doing it (being careful not to smash the bottle) until the cork comes out.

• When it does, take it out with your fingers

Never try to take out the cork at once. The key thing is to take it out gradually – a small piece by a small piece.

This is the safest and the most reliable method of opening a bottle of wine. You need a screwdriver, a screw (preferably a long one) and a hammer with a nail claw or pliers.

• Turn the screw into the cork until just half a centimeter sticks out.

• Using the nail claw or pliers gently pull the screw as if you were removing a nail.

If you are gentle enough, the cork should come out smoothly, with no damage to the bottle or the cork itself.

If there isn’t a single tool or object you could use, it is time to fall back on your footwear. It will only work, though, if the sole is stiff and thick enough.

• Put the bottle into the shoe with its bottom resting on the heel spot.

• Holding the bottle in the shoe hit it against the wall until you see the cork begins to move out.

• Remove it with your hand before it pops out completely.

As shoes do not absorb the shock as well as towels or blankets do, this method require even more care.

This method works best when the wine is new or when there is a little sediment. The list of tools includes a wooden spatula, a container and a coffee filter or a sieve.

• Using the spatula handle gently press the cork into the bottle.

• Put the coffee filter or the sieve over the container.

• Slowly pour the wine from the bottle into the new container, picking up loose pieces of the cork with the coffee filter or the sieve.

There is no way the cork could be used again, so you will have no choice but to drink it all up!

In fact it does not have to be a pump designed for bikes. The ones for pumping balls or just any pumps with a needle will do.

• Pierce the cork with the needle until you see its tip on the other side.

• Very slowly pump the bottle, which will push the cork out.

• When the cork sticks out far enough, take it out with your hand. Unless you want the wine to splash all over your place!

If you have a gas lighter, you can heat the neck of the bottle. The cork will slide out soon.