Who hasn't experienced this at some point? We are about to enjoy a good wine, a bottle that we have reserved for a special occasion. We have time to do it, a nice place, good company and something to eat while we taste our wine. Everything seems perfect... until we realise that we don't have an opener. Then, tired of so much searching, the question arises: how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew? Don't panic.
Here we will see some alternatives to uncork a bottle of wine without an opener. We will explain in detail how to put it into practice and you will be able to see in videos how other users do it. The videos are in English, it will be enough to see how they do it.
This information will be very useful the next time we are faced with this situation and, why not say it, it will make us look like real MacGyvers.
1. OPENING A BOTTLE OF WINE WITH A KNIFE
It sounds dangerous, it's true. But you just have to be careful and use common sense. And above all, never do anything that you are not sure is going to turn out well.
The method in question consists of sticking the tip of a knife right in the middle of the cork, without going through it, so that no debris falls into the bottle and alters the wine. Once we have stuck the knife in, we turn it very slowly, trying not to destroy the cork. When we get the cork to start turning, we will have done the most difficult part. Now all you have to do is keep turning the knife while pulling it upwards. You will see that the cork will come out as if it were a screw. Whenever possible, it is best to use a serrated knife, as it will give you more grip when pulling the cork out.
2. OPENING A BOTTLE OF WINE USING A SCREW HOOK AND A BIRO
This method is probably the closest to building an emergency corkscrew. We will need a hook screw, one of those used, for example, for hanging pictures. It should be large enough so that we can screw it into the cork with our hands without hurting ourselves. Once we have fixed the hook, we insert a pen into it, which will act as a handle for our improvised corkscrew. Now, all we have to do is pull the cork upwards carefully.
An alternative to this method could be to use a normal screw, which we will have to screw in with a screwdriver, and then use the nail puller of a carpenter's hammer to pull the screw out. This method would be based on the same principle as the previous one, but would require more tools.
3. OPENING A BOTTLE OF WINE WITH A SHOE
Let's assume that we don't have a hook bolt or a knife at hand. There is still hope. All we need is something we always (or almost always) wear. Our shoes. Well, at least one of them.
The method consists of inserting the base of the bottle inside the shoe, placing it at heel height and hitting the sole of the shoe against a wall with the bottle inside. The force of the impact received by the shoe will be transmitted to the glass of the bottle, from there it will pass to the wine itself, which will push the small amount of air that always remains between the wine and the cork and, finally, the cork will come out little by little with each blow. When the cork is sufficiently visible, we can pull it out with our hands.
If we decide to use this method, we must be patient and remember that it is better to give many blows with little force than to try to open the bottle with a few very strong blows. This method is especially useful when we are, for example, in an open field and without any tools at hand, where we can replace the wall with a tree that is sturdy enough.
These are just three tricks that can help us to open a bottle of wine when we do not have a bottle opener. There are many others, but before applying them, remember to always act safely. In any case, it is better to take precautions and make sure that you have at hand a good corkscrew an object closely linked to the history of wine and around which there is a whole world to discover.
Do you know more tricks?
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