5 Ways to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew

Have you ever had that moment where you buy a bottle of wine, take it home, and get ready to pour that glass of prosecco you earned after a long day, only to find you can’t find your corkscrew? While the situation could be frustrating, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with five easy tricks (with accompanying YouTube videos) to get that bottle opened up in no time.

Method 1: Screw and hammer
The most foolproof way (after a corkscrew of course) to open up a wine bottle is to put a screw into the cork and pull the cork out with the back of a hammer. This method is the least time consuming, but if you don’t have a hammer or screws, you’re not out of luck yet!

Method 2: Shoe
This method is a bit riskier, might make your apartment neighbors mad, and requires a shoe (best with thicker soles). The idea here is to pound the cork out of the bottle by placing the bottle in the shoe (cork side out), and, while gripping the bottle and shoe, banging the shoe against a wall to force the cork out. While this method takes more energy, you’ve likely got the materials to make it work! If not, we’ve still got you covered.

Method 3: House key
So if you have neither a shoe nor tools, you’ll probably have a house key. For this method, all you have to do is lodge the key into the cork at a 45-degree angle. Once the key is firmly in the cork, turn the entire cork in a circle and pull up using the head of the key until you’ve removed the cork. If that isn’t your style either, though, try our next idea.

Method 4: Wooden spoon
If you’d rather keep your keys out of your wine, another alternative is to simply push the cork into the bottle with the thin handle of a wooden spoon. While certainly not ideal, this method will have that wine flowing in no time. Just make sure to remove any foil beforehand!

Method 5: Scissors
Last but not least, try using a pair of scissors. Being careful not to hurt yourself, try putting one blade into the cork and simple twist out the cork while holding onto the scissors handles. Beware: many a scissor have been bent out of shape using this method!

And if none of these methods work for you, let it be a learning lesson to just get the screw-top stuff in the future.