How To

How to Open a Bottle of Wine Without a Corkscrew

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(20 Ratings)

You have the perfect bottle of wine for the occasion but no corkscrew! Ahhhh! What to do? Relax, the special moment is not lost. Depending on what resources you have at hand, you're just a few simple steps away from cracking that wine bottle open and toasting the night away. Here are a few options to get things flowing.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • Hammer
  • Screwdriver, metal file, marker or other sturdy narrow rod

    The Screw Method

  1. Step 1

    Take your bottle of wine to a "safe" place--the kitchen or patio, perhaps--any area devoid of carpet or other fabric that might get stained should your wine open with more enthusiasm than you expect! Just in case.

  2. Step 2

    Insert a long screw (preferably, with deep grooves) into the cork, making sure you twist it in until it's well-embedded--about 1½ to 2 inches deep. Leave about ¼- to ½-inch of the screw sticking up out of the cork.

  3. Step 3

    Grab the screw by sliding it into the nail-pull end of a hammer, and gently pry the cork up and out! It should only take a few seconds to silence any critics.

  4. The Coat Hanger Corkscrew Method

  5. Step 1

    Take a wire coat hanger and untwist it until you're left holding a fairly straight piece of metal wire. Or, cut out roughly an eight-inch section of the hanger.

  6. Step 2

    Wrap one end of the straight coat hanger wire around a screwdriver shaft in such a way as to form a coil--essentially making your own cheap corkscrew. Use a pair of pliers if you need help twisting. It does not have to be a work of art with tightly-packed coils in order to get to that wine--unless you're planning on making this your new go-to corkscrew!

  7. Step 3

    Screw the coat hanger coil into the cork as you would a normal corkscrew, perhaps forming a loop handle at one end or using a pair of pliers to help ease it in.

  8. Step 4

    Pull on the coat hanger using the loop handle or pliers, taking care not to spill as you pop that stubborn cork right out. Enjoy your bottle of wine!

  9. The

  10. Step 1

    Find a long solid object that will fit inside the glass neck of your wine bottle such as a blunt screwdriver, sturdy metal file or even a marker. We will call this your "cork punch." It needs to be strong enough to stand up to a beating--literally.

  11. Step 2

    Cover the wine bottle mouth with paper towels or an old cloth towel--one you don't care about staining. Make sure you're in an area where a splash of wine won't do any damage. Things could get messy.

  12. Step 3

    Line up your weapon of choice, i.e. cork punch, directly over the cork. Position it so it is not touching the glass bottle mouth.

  13. Step 4

    Grab your hammer, hold the cork punch vertically--in line with the bottle--and swing away! Give it a good whack, but make sure the wine bottle is stable; have a friend hold onto it if possible. Just be careful not to hit him with the hammer or impale him with your cork punch! Continue hammering away until the cork pops down into the bottle.

  14. Step 5

    Drink up! Just keep an eye out for stray pieces of cork floating in the bottle or your glass--a small price to pay for a salvaged night of wine-filled fun.

Tips & Warnings
  • If you do not have a hammer, use a fork or pliers to ease the cork out of the bottle by prying and pulling on the screw. You can also improvise by pinching the screw between the handles of a can-opener, or even between a pair of dull knives, and carefully pulling the cork to freedom!
  • Be careful not to chip the bottle when punching the cork out. Even a tiny shard of glass could ruin much more than your wine.

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