“Quick disclaimer: most of these methods aren’t 100% foolproof. In fact, they are all prone to screw up your bottle of wine if done incorrectly or without proper care, i.e., breaking the cork and having it shed into the wine, chipping the wine bottle, or, in a worst-case scenario, breaking the wine bottle completely. So, if you have a rare and/or expensive wine that would break your heart if broken in this process, you should probably just wait until you have a corkscrew. However, in all other circumstances (which, lets be real, is usually the case) these options can help lift you from despair and grant you a pleasant vino-filled night”:
If nothing else, this was worth a good laugh. I could see some of these unusual methods working. Hitting it against the wall would be one I’d skip with my luck it’d go straight through the wall.
I confess to have trying #4. I was at a party where no corkscrew was in evidence. A small steak knife was used, resulting in the cork shattering. Things only went downhill from there…let’s just say the wine was put through a strainer and into a plastic bowl…I dare not continue lest I offend more sensitive ears. At least it was not a particularily special botle of wine…but I am sure that not even Yellowtail deserves such a fate 
“without a corkscrew,” not “without a cork”
I know Neal. I “screwed up” and failed to edit.
This is my favorite way to open a bottle without a corkscrew…
One caveat to method 2 (pushing the cork into the wine): this causes a moderate amount of displaced wine to shoot out of the bottle. Put a paper towel or something around the top of the bottle to avoid staining clothes and other nearby things.
One caveat to method 2 (pushing the cork into the wine): this causes a moderate amount of displaced wine to shoot out of the bottle. Put a paper towel or something around the top of the bottle to avoid staining clothes and other nearby things.
Method 2 was my go-to when chugging cheap wine in cheap hotels while on the road in my youth. Non-business end of toothbrush works wonders.
I count 2 caveats Chris
My favorite Macgyver is to use a shoestring. You tie a knot at the end of the string. If you have twine, even better for sanitary reasons. Step A-push the cork in. Step B-snake the knot past the cork. Step C-pull on the string. Haven’t had to do it in a long time, but the few times I did, it always worked.
Good one Mitch
I’ve opened a bottle with a knife many times. Serrated narrow steak knife works very well. In an emergency, I once even used a butter knife. I used a steak knife in the parking lot for the WSJ article when the cork screw drilled out the center of an old bottle. Easy Peasy.
I’ve used a screwdriver any number of times. Mainly in college when my buddy and I ran out of beer during NBA Jam marathons. Cold bottle of Cavit Pinot Grigio, long necked screwdriver. Push the cork in, pour into solo cups.
I’ve also opened a bottle with a shoe/wall. So the best way to do it quickly and safely is actually to combine the two. Take off your shoe and put the base of the bottle in the heel area. Then whack the heel of the shoe (with the bottle in the shoe) against a wall. The sole absorbs enough to not bust the bottle, but the rigidity of the wall helps pop the cork way faster than just whacking it with a shoe on the base.
Also, who makes a bike pump needle long enough to push all the way through a cork?
Pump It Out - “You take a bike pump that has a needle attached and plunge it through the cork, penetrating all the way through until the needle reaches the air between the cork and the wine. Then you pump air into the bottle. As you pump, the cork should slowly move out of the bottle from the air pressure.”
Years ago, my father was gifted a device that worked in this fashion. It had a round, large plastic piece that would be pushed onto the top of the bottle. Inside the plastic was a needle that pierced the cork. The plastic piece had an internal spring that allowed air to be pumped into the bottle through the needle.
My father used it on a bottle of Fazi Battaglia - the green glass bottle was shaped like a fish.
The bottle exploded. In the trash along with the shards of glass went the pump.
A cousin tried the banging against a wall through a shoe trick. At a wedding reception.
It didn’t work out like all those YouTube videos.
No cork movement at all, prompting more and more vigorous thwacks until the bottle broke.
I’m sure glad I posted this. There’s some hilarious feedback and some creative options for not having a corkscrew. Thanks to all.
I once used a letter opener. Like a one-sided Ah-so.
Slowly slid the opener in and levered the cork out.
Do you moonlight as a summer romance novelist?
5 – Wrap the bottle with a towel and use the wall to smack it out
Witnessed this firsthand in a cantina with a bottle of rotgut Mexican red. The bartender took the bottle, a towel, and began whacking the heck out of it…and what do you know? It worked!