7 Ways to Open a Bottle of Wine Without a Corkscrew

You’re on vacation and stop by a liquor store to get some wine before you head back to the hotel room. You’re hanging out with your friends late into the night and decide to open a bottle of the good stuff. You have a first date at a BYOB restaurant and pick up a bottle on the way. Any of these could seem like a dreamy scenario, until it turns into a nightmare: There’s no corkscrew to be found.

It’s OK. There are actually several ways to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew — and some of them are pretty fun. Here are some tactics you can try to get that bottle open and keep your night moving along more smoothly than a long pour.

Use a power drill

Essentially the same thing as using a screw and a hammer, this is just arguably more fun and definitely easier (provided you have a drill). You use your power tool to drive the screw directly into the cork and then pull it right out. Watch how easy it is above.

Smack it (ideally if it’s bubbly)

To open a bottle of wine, you just need to smack it a few times against something solid. It works best on sparkling wines, as the bubbles will get all riled up and do what bubbles do, expanding the content enough to shove the cork out, but you can do it with regular wine if you are determined enough. Cushion the bottle in a shoe and bang it on the wall, as above. Here’s our guide on the smacking method, too.

Use a lighter

You can hold a lighter to the neck of the bottle to heat the air under the cork and eventually push it out. Move it around the outside to really get things going (and so you don’t overheat one spot on the glass). Be careful with the hot bottle afterward, but enjoy the rewards of your scientific endeavour.

Try a straightener

If you have a hair straightener lying around, it will do the same thing as the lighter. As with that trick, you do want to move the straightener back and forth and up and down, but focus on getting the heat under the cork as much as you can. It will take some time, but it should pop out.

Key it

You can uncork a bottle by shoving a regular key into it at an angle, then rotating and yanking on the key at the same time. After some effort, you’ll have the cork up high enough that you can grab it and pull it all the way out with your hands. (We have a more detailed guide here.)

Cut it out

OK, you don’t actually want to cut the cork, but you do want to use a knife. This method is petty much identical to the key tip from before, so whether you do this or that depends largely on what is more immediately available to you. Slam it in at an angle and wiggle and pull until that cork is free.

Pump it out

If, for some reason, you don’t have a corkscrew but you do have an air pump handy, you’re in for a treat because you get to do something fun. Push the needle of your pump between the cork and the side of the bottle, then pump the air a little bit. Be very careful to pump slowly, one push at a time, so you don’t blow up your whole bottle.