Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have a nice bottle of red wine but don’t have a corkscrew? Perhaps you'd just moved into a new apartment, or you were in a hotel room.
I’m sure most of us have gone through that stomach-dropping feeling of panic and disappointment.
Perhaps you are going through it right now, and trying to rectify the situation by looking online for the best way to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew.
If that is the case, well done. You have come to the right place.
We’ll skip all the confusing methods of how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew that require carpeting tools and other complicated contraptions. Instead, we will tell you how to open a bottle of wine with stuff you probably have on hand.
These methods require no extra skill and no fancy equipment. And most importantly, they all actually work!
Now it’s just about deciding which one works the best.
Open A Bottle Of Wine By Pounding It Against A Wall
What you’ll need is a sturdy wall, your corked bottle of wine, and either a shoe, a book, or a towel.
This method works differently with each of those items, so you may have to try them all to see which one is the most effective for you.
First, remove any foil that may be on top of the cork.
Then, if you are attempting this method with a shoe, place your bottle’s bottom in the foot hole and pound the shoe against the wall.
If you are trying it with a book, then place your book flat against the wall and pound the wine bottle’s bottom against it.
If you are testing this method with a towel, then take your bottle of wine and wrap the towel tightly around it. Once fully wrapped, pound the wine bottle’s bottom against the wall.
Each one of those items should soften the blow against the wall, protecting it from scratching and the wine bottle from breaking. However, each blow should be hard enough to start moving the cork out of its place.
Once the cork is showing enough to be grasped, gently wiggle it out of the wine bottle with your hands.
Pros:
- Doesn’t require any fancy tools
- Low risk of injury
- Works 100 percent of the time
Cons:
- Takes a long time
- Requires a lot of energy
- Can be pretty loud
Open A Wine Bottle With A Key
For this method you’ll need a key — a house key, a car key, any metal key that’s hard to break.
Begin by removing any foil that may be on top of the cork.
Then push your key into the edge of the cork at a 45-degree angle. Once it’s fully inserted, begin to gently push the key in circles so the cork turns with it.
Keep going around until you see the cork slowly come out.
Continue up until you can grasp the cork with your hands and take it out.
Pros:
- Only requires a key
Cons:
- Requires strength in your hands and fingers
- The cork doesn’t always begin to come out
Open A Wine Bottle With A Wooden Handle
This method can be done with any hard object (preferably wooden) that’s long and blunt on both ends.
Anything like a wooden spoon or even a makeup brush that has a longer handle will work if you’re persistent (and if you’re still reading, then you definitely are).
Start by removing any foil that may be on top of the cork.
Then sit down on a chair and place the unopened bottle of wine on the floor between your legs. Take your wooden-handled object, place one end onto the cork, and start pushing it into the bottle.
Carry on until the cork goes inside and the bottle of wine is open for you to enjoy.
Pros:
- Doesn’t require too much strength
- Doesn’t take long
- Works almost all the time
- Low risk of injury
Cons:
- Might break your makeup brush
- Might spill a little bit of the wine when the cork pops in (avoid doing this on a carpet)
The Best Way To Open A Bottle Of Wine Without A Corkscrew
After spending some time trying to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew, we have come to a decision about which method works the best — although banging the wine bottle on the wall does the job, pushing the cork in with a wooden handle is the easiest and quickest option.
This method has been tried and tested by many over the years, and has never ended with disappointment.
Although the cork inside might block the wine flow once in a while, it’s worth the effort if the wine is really good.
If you succeed in opening your bottle of wine with one of our mentioned methods, SHARE this article with your friends. You wouldn’t want them to miss out on a good night just because they don’t know how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew!
