Wine Wednesday-5 Ways to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew

You find yourself at a lovely home rental in the mountains.   You have brought your favorite wine, and you can't wait to sit on the deck overlooking the beautiful mountains sipping your lovely wine.  The house you rented should be fully stocked, but when you search for the corkscrew, which should be a staple item, you find there is none to be found.  How do I open this bottle of wine without a corkscrew?

Ways that I would try...

1-Use a Long Screw, a Screwdriver, and a Hammer-You take a long screw and screw it into the cork with a screwdriver until there is about an inch or so left showing. Then, you take the backside of the hammer, lock it under the screw, and pull the cork out.

2-Push the Cork in with the Handle of a Wooden Spoon- Once you do this, you cannot remove the cork, and if it is an old cork, it may fracture into pieces within the wine.  If the cork does crumble, you can strain the wine to remove the pieces of cork.

3-Twist the Cork Out With Your Keys-Push a key deep within the cork at a 45-degree angle.  Attempt to slowly twist the cork out.

Ways to remove the cork that seem a bit dangerous to me.  I think I would injure myself.

4- Use a Wire Hanger-Bend the hanger into a 30-degree fish hook.  Slide the tip down the side of the cook into the bottle.  Rotate the wire until the hook is under the hook and pull it out with plyers.  I know I would get hurt trying this method.

5-Use a Bike Pump- Penetrate the cork with the needle attachment of a bike air pump.  Insert it until it passes through the cork and into the bottle.  Slowly pump air into the bottle, and the pressure should slowly move the cork up and out of the bottle.

Here is a YouTube video showing the Screwdriver and Wooden Spoon Technique.  She also shows us how to do this with a shoe; that one scares me a bit.

Hope this helps when it comes to that rare occasion where you don't have a corkscrew. 

Happy Wine Sipping Everyone!

KathieyV