5 Ways How Not to Open a Wine Bottle without a Bottle Opener

Easy. Twist it open 🙂 A bottle meant to be drunk in such desperate circumstances is already closed by either a screw cap or any other easy-to-open closure. This doesn’t mean screw-capped bottles are only for fast consumption or cheaper wines. On the contrary, some of the most age-worthy and expensive wines are preserved thanks to a screw cap.

If you are facing a traditional bottle closed with a cork, please do not do it. Not without a bottle opener. 

Let us imagine You end up at some beach party and there is no bottle opener in sight. That bottle of wine You brought won’t impress anybody if You can`t open it. 

1. Drills, Scissors, and air pumps

For do-it-yourself enthusiasts, there are countless tricks using drills, scissors, and air pumps and some of them might work. (For example, circling with a lighter around the bottleneck will also heat the cork and some corks might pop out eventually). But on that imagined beach party, there are no more tools than there are bottle openers. Now what?

2. Knife

There is kinda some consensus about it, a knife of the right size and stamina could help You. Inserting a knife deeply inside the cork could work if You are patient enough to carefully twist and pull. But the success of such ways depends on the type of cork. Although it is hard to imagine one might think of opening a vintage bottle with a knife, which is most likely destined to fail anyway.

Even synthetic corks might resist and probably the best chance is with agglomerate cork and some fresh natural corks. However, we are guessing if You differentiate one type of cork from another, You will think of something more elegant than knifing it.

3. Banging Against the Wall

When we think of elegance, one more „trick“ is our „favorite“. Maybe You have heard about the „Banging a bottle against the wall“ routine. Well, regardless of whether You are using a shoe or a towel or whatever to prevent breaking the bottle (or the wall), please do not do it. Have You heard of a travel shock?

A good wine should rest a while before opening, not be banged against the wall 😢. We are putting so much effort into preserving bottles and improving the logistics of transporting them to consumers and You will bang it against the wall?!? 😱 (It will also take ages to open any properly closed bottle that way 😛 )

4. A corkscrew that’s not a Corkscrew

If You got something that You can screw into a cork, expect to get screwed. The best outcome is to get a hole in the cork torred with a screw. Sure, You can get in contact with the desired liquid that way, but You will also spoil it. Your wine won’t taste as expected infected with tiny lumps and crumbs from cork.

5. Cork pounder

Furthermore, if You are too eager to get to that inspiring liquid, You might end up cutting Yourself. However, if this truly is an emergency, find something to pound the cork into the bottle rather than get it out. Please, be careful. You can get another bottle or two at our store, but You can’t grow another finger or two.