Wine Bottle
If you need to open a bottle of wine but don't have a corkscrew, you can still get your wine bottle open with a few items from around the house. These options are not ideal: If you have a wine opener handy, you should use it. Opening a wine bottle incorrectly may result in pieces of cork dropping into the wine, or even bottle breakage.
Screw Extraction
Find a drywall screw or wood screw that has wide spirals. Because a corkscrew closely resembles a screw, you can twist the screw into the cork and get it to work virtually the same way as a corkscrew. Because the head of the screw is so small, you may have trouble pulling the screw out with your bare hands. Use a pair of pliers or put a rubber glove on your hand while grasping the screw. Have someone help you hold the bottle while you are pulling the screw. The cork, with some twisting, should come out easily. This method is ideal if you are at home, with access to these tools.
Tap and Pull
Hit the base of the bottle against a hard surface, like a wall or a tree. Make sure you are not hitting the glass against anything that would be hard enough to break it, however. You can wrap a towel or shirt around the base of the bottle to ensure the bottle doesn't break. Make sure the surface you are banging the wine bottle against runs vertically, so the bottle is perpendicular to the surface as you are banging it. Continue to hit the bottle until the cork protrudes enough for you to grab it with your fingers, or pull it out with a pair of pliers, if available. This method is ideal when you're at a picnic or beach because it does not require anything but a hard surface.
Knife Twist
If you have a narrow pocketknife or even a butter knife handy, you can open a bottle of wine. You will be able to get the cork out more easily if there is a serrated edge on the knife, but any knife that can fit into the neck of the bottle will work. Gently, using a rocking motion, cut into the center of the cork. Try not to push the cork further into the bottle while doing this. When the knife has gotten about halfway through the cork, start twisting back and forth while lifting up to remove the cork entirely.
Tags: base bottle, bottle against, bottle while, bottle wine, hard surface