How to Open Wine Without a Opener

Imagine on a beautiful day, the perfect picnic with the person of your dreams, the two of you set up bread, cheese, a bottle of wine and… you forgot to bring a wine opener?! No problem. There are so many simple ways for you to open bottles and pour wine! ^{[1] X Research Source}

Table of Contents

Push the cork into the bottle

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Find something with a blunt end. The tip of the object you choose should be smaller than the cork and not pointed or sharp as it could break the cork. Pens such as ballpoint pens, markers (including erasers and highlighters) will work, as long as they have a cap. You can also use a cylindrical cosmetic stick or knife sharpener. The multi-hook also works. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Place the bottle on a flat and firm floor. You can keep the bottle in your lap or on the table to keep it in place. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

You can also place the bottle opener against the wall and push in horizontally. Push the bottom of the bottle to make it easier for the cork to slip in. Hold the bottle neck and base firmly to prevent slipping. Make sure the surface is hard enough to not be dented, protect it by sticking some newspaper on the wall.

Place the bottle opener close to the cork. The cork is usually inserted into the neck of the bottle, if it is a bit protruding, press down gently to make the cork retract to the mouth of the bottle so that when the operation does not slide out.

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Press the down button. Point the mouth of the bottle away from you in case the alcohol splashes. Holding the wine bottle in one hand, the other hand holding the tool to open the bottle, press down until the cork enters the bottle. Be careful because the wine can be compared when the cork falls in. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

This is easy to do, but there will be some crumbs of the cork in the wine.
The surrounding area (and open clothing!) can be contaminated by spilled alcohol; Don’t do this if you’re wearing a nice suit or are on the carpet. Prepare a few tissues to wrap around the neck of the bottle when doing this.

Murphy Perng

Wine consultant

Murphy Perng is a wine consultant and founder of Matter of Wine, a company that specializes in the production of educational wine events, including team games and networking events. Living in Los Angeles, California, Murphy has collaborated with brands such as Equinox, Buzzfeed, WeWork and Stage & Table, etc. Murphy holds a WSET Level 3 certification (wine & spirits certification).

Murphy Perng
Wine consultant

Pro Tip: If you push the cork into the bottle, pour the wine through a coffee filter before drinking. The texture of the wine may change slightly when filtered through a coffee filter, but it will remove any crumbs from the cork in the wine.

Use a knife

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Find a pocket knife or paring knife. The blade must be sized to fit the neck of the bottle. A serrated knife will hold the cork tighter. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Be careful when using a knife. Don’t hurt yourself.

Insert the tip of the knife into the cork. Carefully push the knife towards me with just the right amount of downward pressure so that the knife pierces the button. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Slowly rotate and pull the knife out. With the blade deeply embedded in the cork, the rotation combined with the scissors will cause the cork to pop out. Be careful not to drop debris into the bottle. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Insert the tip of the knife between the mouth of the bottle and the cap of the bottle. Use moderate force to push the knife handle outward so that the tip of the knife presses into the cork. This way you will push the cork up from the side.

Because of the pressure placed on the side of the bottle, you should hold the knife in one hand, and the other hand on the neck of the bottle just below the tip of the knife.

Use shoes

Remove the protective layer on the outside of the neck of the bottle. Make sure there are no pieces of plastic or metal left outside the mouth of the bottle. To remove the cover, simply slide it up and out. If the cover doesn’t come off, pull out the sealing strip to open it if it is. Or you can just cut it out with a knife. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Put the bottle of wine in the shoe. Any type of flat shoe will do (except high heels and flip flops), as long as the collar has room for a bottle of wine. Let the bottle stand in the shoe, the cork facing you, one hand holding the bottle, the other hand holding the shoe. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Tap the sole of the shoe against the wall. Holding both the wine bottle and the shoe, knock several times against the wall. Hold the wine bottle perpendicular to the wall and the position of the shoe sole in contact with the wall must be right where the bottle is placed. The shoe will keep the bottle from breaking, but don’t knock too hard. After a few times if done correctly, the cork will pop up. ^{[10] X Research Source}

If you are going on a picnic and there are no walls there, you can knock your shoes on a pole or tree trunk. Just make sure you don’t slip if you don’t want to break the bottle!
If your shoes don’t fit the bottle, wrap the base of the bottle with a towel or use a book underneath and tap. The shoe is just to keep the bottle from breaking.

Take out the cork. Once the cork has risen a few centimeters, you can pull it out by hand and start enjoying the party. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Use screws

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Find a screwdriver and pliers. The larger the spiral distance on the nail, the better. Make sure that anything that comes in contact with the cork is clean because alcohol is very perishable if dirt gets in it.

Screw the screw into the button until about 2 cm is left on the outside. You can completely screw it in by hand, but if you find it difficult, use a screwdriver. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Be careful not to break the cork into small pieces.

Use pliers to pull the nail out. Pull out the screw with pliers; The cork will follow the nail out. You can also use the flat end of the hammer (the tip to pry the nail) to replace the pliers. In short, anything is fine as long as it’s hard and can go over the tip of the nail to help you pull the cork out of the bottle. ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Remove the cork with the pitchfork. jam. You just need to replace the pliers with a jam stick. Place the two forks under the screw head in a T shape. The screw is vertical and the jam pitcher is perpendicular to it. Use your index and middle fingers to raise the jam pitcher.

Make sure the two pointed ends of the jam pitcher are wider than the flat end of a small to medium-sized screw.

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Use bicycle hooks instead of screws. Find a bicycle hook (the kind to hang the bike to the railing). Screw it onto the cork, use the hook end as a handle and slowly pull the cork out of the bottle. This way you don’t need to use extra pliers or other tools.

Use a coat hanger

Straighten a metal clothes hanger. Choose a cheap hanger and straighten it.

Make a hook at the top of the hook. Bend the end of the hook 10mm with pliers to form an angle of about 30 degrees (almost like a fishing hook). ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Thread the zinc rod between the cork and the mouth of the bottle. Tilt the hook along the edge of the bottle to make it easier to tuck it down. You need to push the hook end down at least 5cm until it goes under the cork. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Rotate the zinc bar 90 degrees. At this point, the hook will hook into the cork and you just need to rotate the zinc bar to pull the button up. ^{[16] X Research Source}

Open the bottle of wine. Wear gloves to avoid pain when pulling the zinc bar. The hook must rotate into the hook on the cork so it can go up with the hook.

Use hangers instead of screws. This is quite common if you don’t have screws. After straightening the hanger, insert the zinc rod into the middle of the cork, then pull and rotate the hanger to let the wine cork come out. ^{[17] X Research Source}

Use paper clips

Take two paper clips and a pen. Straighten the paper clip, leaving only the U-shaped part at both ends.

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Insert a paper clip into the side of the cork. Start with a U-shape along the edge of the bottle mouth to tuck it down the neck of the wine bottle, then rotate the paper clip 90 degrees so that the U-end hooks just below the cork. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Do the same with the other paper clip but the other side of the cork.

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Connect the two paper clips. Twist the top two ends of the paper clip together and pull the joint up with the cork.

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Take out the cork. Insert a suitable tool such as a spatula, pencil or ballpoint pen under the twisted zinc and then pull out the cork. ^{[19] X Research Source}

Use a hammer

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Find 3 short nails and a hammer. Ideally, the nail should reach the bottom of the cork.

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Slowly drive the nails into the cork so that they are aligned and close together. Do not close too hard lest you break the cork into many pieces. ^{[20] X Research Source}

Place the pry tip of the hammer straight along the nails. It should be tight enough for you to pry off the cork.

Pry both the nail and the cork from the bottle. You just need to apply force to the hammer handle, gently shaking it back and forth to pry the button. Or you can fix the hammer and nail with one hand, and rotate the bottle with the other hand to separate the cork from the mouth of the bottle. ^{[21] X Research Source}

If it doesn’t work the first time, hammer the cork back into the cork in a straight line perpendicular to the original line and try again.

Use scissors

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Get a pair of scissors. Ideally, you should use manual scissors or children’s scissors (not toy scissors).

Open and pull it all the way out. Remember not to touch the blade part to avoid injury. Take only the handles of the scissors and open them as wide as possible.

Press the sharp end of the scissors into the center of the cork. Apply gentle force and push the scissor blade deep into the button. Be careful not to push the cork into the bottle or break it into pieces. ^{[22] X Research Source}

Holding the handle of the scissors, combine turning and pulling up. Grasp the neck of the bottle with one hand while the other hand holds the scissors. Or you can hold the scissors and rotate the bottle. If the blade is submerged deep enough and tight enough, the cork will be pulled up just enough for you to pull the cork directly out by hand. ^{[23] X Research Sources}

Advice

If you don’t have pliers, you can wrap the rope around the screw and pull.
All of the above methods take time and effort. If convenient, you should go to the store and buy a wine opener.
Depending on how well the bottle is stored, the cork can dry out and disintegrate in the bottle. Be careful to leave the button intact.
Point the wine bottle in the other direction when pushing the cork into the bottle to avoid staining on your body.

Attention

Be very careful with sharp objects and do not use them if you are drunk.
Using your teeth to open wine can damage your teeth.
You will break the bottle if you use too much force in any of the ways mentioned above.

Steps