Instructions for a Door Knob Wine Stopper

After you pop the cork on your wine, you can seal it with a stopper.

Recycle old materials by giving them new uses, such as taking a decorative antique doorknob and repurposing it into a wine stopper. A wine stopper is a shaped cork that is narrow on the bottom and wider on the top and it uses a handle to allow it to be pulled easily. You use a wine stopper after you've opened a bottle of wine, but before you're done drinking it, to keep it sealed between pours.

Things You'll Need

• Cork or synthetic bottle plugs
• Utility knife
• 12 gauge florists wire
• Needle-nose pliers
• Clear-drying all-weather glue

Instructions

1. Hold the fat end of the cork up to the bottom of the doorknob (where the top is the handle side). Fit the cork into the cavity in the knob if possible. If not, use a utility knife to cut off just enough of the top of the cork so that the fat end fits snugly inside the bottom of the doorknob.

2. Twist a piece of wire back over itself clockwise, using needle-nose pliers if necessary, so that the finished length is about 3/4 the height of your cork. Do not use a piece of wire that is longer than your cork or you won't get a seal with your wine stopper. Glue the doubled-over end to the center of the inside of the knob cavity. Hold it in place to make sure it is centered and straight. Wait for the glue to dry, according to the manufacturer's instructions.

3. Find the middle point of the top of the cork and pierce it with the bottom of the wire glued to the knob. Twist it into the cork clockwise, following the twist in the wire. Just before the cork touches the bottom of the knob, apply glue inside the knob cavity and to the top of the cork. Finish screwing the knob tightly onto the cork. Wipe up any glue immediately. Wait for it to dry completely before using.

References

• Design Sponge: DIY Project: Bottle Stopper Menagerie
• Suvino Winery: Knob Stopper
• Re-Nest: Knobstoppers