How to Uncork Wine Without an Opener
In a pinch, there are several different ways you can attempt to uncork a bottle of wine without an opener using household objects or other commonly found items. Methods to open a bottle of wine sans corkscrew can involve pushing, pulling or slicing the cork out. Depending on which item you own -- or feel most comfortable using -- pick the method you want to try out. If all else fails, you might want to find a bottle of wine with a screw-off top. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Screw
- Screwdriver
- Hammer
- Pen
- Apron
- Swiss Army knife
- Shoe
- Tree
- Towel
- Chef's knife
Instructions
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Removing the Cork Using Pulling Methods
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Push the screw into the cork and then use the screwdriver to wedge it in deeply. Take the hammer and, using the claw of the hammer, pull the screw and the attached cork out of the bottle.
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2
Use a pen and apron to pull the cork out of the wine bottle if you do not have a screw, screwdriver and hammer. Use the pen to push the cork into the wine bottle, so it is bobbing in the wine. Take the string of the apron, fold it in half, and push it into the bottle. Catch the cork in the loop created by the apron string and get the cork out of the bottle by tugging the apron string.
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3
Use a Swiss Army knife and wedge the blade into the cork. Grasp the handle firmly, and both tug and wiggle the cork at the same time, so that it slowly pulls out of the bottle. You will want to hold the bottle between your legs or with your other hand so that it is easier to pull the blade of the knife with the cork out of the bottle.
Removing the Cork Using Pushing or Slicing Methods
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4
Remove the foil from the top of the bottle and find a shoe with a thick sole. Place the bottle firmly inside your shoe and grip the bottle and the shoe with both hands. Maintaining your grip on both objects, slam the sole of the shoe against a hard surface repeatedly until the cork comes almost all the way out of the bottle. When it is almost completely out, remove the bottle from your shoe and wedge the cork the rest of the way out, so no wine is spilled.
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5
Wrap the wine bottle with a towel and bang the base of the bottle against the tree in the same way that you would slam the wine bottle and shoe against a hard surface if the shoe method doesn't work. This is a handy method if you are outdoors and find yourself lacking a corkscrew.
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6
Point the cork away from yourself and others. Find the seam of the bottle, which is the raised line along the side of the bottle, and hold the bottle in your hand with the seam facing upward. Take the flat edge of a chef's knife and lay the blade on the seam, with the flat part of the blade facing the cork. The bottle and the knife should be perpendicular to each other.
Slice the dull edge of the blade up the length of the bottle in one clean movement so that part of the neck of the bottle with the cork inside is cut off.
This technique, called "sabering," can be difficult and also slightly dangerous. Be careful not to cut yourself on the cut edge of the bottle.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
