Wine Tips: Opening a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew

If you get wine-related content on your feed, you’ve seen more than a few ways of opening bottles of wine creatively without a wine opener. Sure, people in these videos often fail, but there are ways of opening a bottle of wine without a corkscrew safely and effectively.

Here’s what you need to know about the most common ways of pulling out a cork. Of course, we recommend always having the right wine accessories around to prevent having to use the techniques below, but sometimes there’s no other choice.

The Worse Scenario

Imagine you’re ready to enjoy a bottle of wine with friends. The table is set, and the wine is at the right temperature. Suddenly, you realize you don’t have a wine opener. What to do? Here’s how to come out of this often-common situation creatively.

The right wine accessories make enjoying wine easier. For starters, always have a wine opener in hand, and a simple corkscrew is more than enough – you don’t need fancy gadgets. You should also have a bouchon to recork opened bottles — that’s what we call a life-saving wine accessory! Here’s how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew.

The Key Technique.

Keys are sharp and have the ideal shape for grabbing and turning. Somewhat like a corkscrew, insert a key (ideally, a non-essential key) into the cork and twist while pulling until the cork pops out.

What’s in Your Toolbox?

If you are in a hurry, look at what you have available in your toolbox. Inserting a screw or nail and pulling it out with pliers (or the back of a hammer) usually works well, and even an electric drill can do the trick if you’re careful.

Push it Down.

If everything fails, push the cork down until it sinks. Yes, this is not a fancy alternative, but it works. You’ll still have to push the cork down a few times if it prevents you from pouring the wine.

The Famous Shoe Method.

If you have not seen this technique, please look for a video of it. Yes, a shoe can protect a bottle while you stomp it against a wall, causing the impact and the pressure inside the bottle to loosen up the cork. This is a risky method, though — it’s glass we’re dealing with.

The Blow Torch Method.

Finally, as you know, gas expands with heat and contracts at cold temperatures. Using a kitchen blow torch and pointing it toward the neck of the bottle, you can heat the air and push out the cork. This technique, though, is dangerous, so be careful!

You Did It!

Sure, having a bottle of wine ready to go and not having how to open it can ruin the mood, but with the tips above, we’re sure you’ll find a way to defeat that cork.

After all that work, the least you can do is enjoy the wine properly, which means using the right glassware. Most importantly, use a Grassl wine bouchon to recork your bottle and have it ready for future enjoyment. Enjoying wine is all about being prepared. We may need to improvise sometimes, but that’s part of the fun, right? Cheers!