How to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew?

It happens to everyone eventually — you've got a great bottle of wine, a perfect setting, and absolutely no corkscrew in sight. Here are the best workarounds, ranked from safest to most adventurous.

Method 1 — Screw and pliers (safest): Find a long screw (about 5 cm / 2 inches), thread it into the centre of the cork using a screwdriver (or just twist it by hand), leaving about 2 cm sticking out. Grip the screw head with pliers, a fork, or even the claw end of a hammer, and pull straight up. Success rate: about 90 %.

Method 2 — Push the cork in (easiest): Use the handle of a wooden spoon, a thick marker, or any solid cylindrical object to push the cork down into the bottle. The wine is perfectly fine — the cork just floats inside. Pour through a sieve if bits of cork break off. Not elegant, but effective.

Method 3 — The shoe method (most dramatic): Wrap the bottle's base in a thick towel, place it inside a flat-soled shoe, and bang the sole against a solid wall with firm, steady hits. The hydraulic pressure gradually pushes the cork out. Stop once it protrudes enough to pull by hand. Don't try this with old wines (the shaking disturbs sediment) or sparkling wines (obvious reasons).

Method 4 — Key or knife: Insert a thick key or pocket knife at an angle into the cork, then twist and pull. Higher risk of crumbling the cork, but it works in a pinch.

Important safety note: never use any of these methods on sparkling wine. The internal pressure (about 6 atmospheres in champagne) makes improvised opening genuinely dangerous — the cork can launch with enough force to cause injury.