Have you ever needed to open a traditional bottle of wine without having a corkscrew handy? This video explains how to get it done… by using your shoe.
Several years ago, my wife and I spent our anniversary in a cozy B&B nestled in a picturesque corner of the Blue Mountains. Following a romantic dinner, we retired to our room with a bottle of wine in tow, only to discover there was no corkscrew in the cutlery drawer.
After attacking the cork with a butter knife for the better part of an hour, we went to bed sober and decidedly unrandy. It was the worst thing that’s ever happened in the history of the universe.
If only I’d been privy to this simple shoe hack, eh?
Before anyone brings it up in the comments, I’m aware that most contemporary wines are now equipped with twist tops. Corked varieties do still exist however; they often come as a nasty surprise when you order from online stores such as GraysOnline (I speak from bitter experience).
But hang on — wouldn’t repeatedly pounding a wine bottle against a wall affect the content’s flavour? If any wine snobs are reading, tell us what you think in the comments section below.
[Via Mirabeau Wine]
Comments
5 responses to “How To Uncork A Wine Bottle With Your Shoe”
Cool idea. For ‘fresher’ wines.
I don’t want to be too snarky, but you wouldn’t want to do this with a cellared bottle. You don’t really want to shake the sediment into the wine do you?
Anyway, is it really such a hassle to have a corkscrew (and bottle opener, stubby cooler, pocketknife, etc etc) nearby at all times? Be prepared people.
Still one of those handy things to know. A bottle opener is innocuous enough that you could carry one around anywhere in the form of a ring or a keychain but there are some places, namely the airport, where it’d get confiscated.
This would have come in hand recently at a picnic when someone bought a bottle of wine but no corkscrew. I think someone may have brainstormed this particular idea at one point but with a piece of wood instead. (eventually a corkscrew did appear out of nowhere, but it was the kind without the lever so you need to pull it out manually.
Man, I want to get bottle of wine now purely for the purposes of trying this trick out.
Exactly. A wine snob brings his own corkscrew. None of that cheap dodgy B&B corkscrews thanks.
Anyway, it’s an interesting technique – probably only good for young wines with a solid cork. A deteriorating cork would just collapse under that kind of pressure.
Love it !!! but what if I’m being a summer-time holiday dirty-hippy and not wearing any shoes… opens the door for an awkward conversation opener… Uhhhh HI… can I just borrow one of your shoes please… left, right it doesn’t matter… thanks 😉
I actually tried this.. didn’t budge at all and I wasn’t game to hit any harder (even if I was able to).
Ended up using a screw and a pair of pliers to lever out the cork.
Subsequent research has revealed that the shoe trick only works for some bottles.
I’ve also just hacked out the cork with a pocket knife.. Ended up discarding 50mL containing cork floaties, but otherwise had clean wine.