a bottle of wine, but no corkscrew

[alacarte]

Unbelievable but true -- the Wall St Journal asked the Sommelier Society of America what to do when you're caught sans corkscrew. Here's what they said:

Alternative #1: Drive the cork into the bottle.

"Use a narrow, cylindrical thing -- a tube of [lip balm] ... or the handle of a wooden spoon -- and gently, slowly push it down into the bottle," says Anne Woods, the organization's assistant to the chairman. "Then you have to be creative when you pour it," because when you tip the bottle to pour, the cork will block the flow of wine. So you'll need something long and skinny -- the spoon handle again or a skewer -- to hold the cork back as you pour

Alternative #2: Use a woodworking screw as corkscrew substitute.

it could work like a corkscrew with the help of a screwdriver, Ms. Woods says. Once you've screwed the hardware into the cork, use pliers to slowly wriggle the cork out of the neck. The Sommelier Society instructors admit this is the more difficult of the two methods.

And as an aside, they note to expect "some spillage" with either method, but they say it's better than not having access to your wine at all. (ok - I agree with that one.)

Anyone else have a creative alternative to the corkscrew?

[KatieLoeb]

A friend of mine (a former Boy Scout) once used two Volkswagen keys to open a bottle by creating a twin pronged cork puller from the two keys. Genius! And definitely a fine example of preparedness...

My own personal vision of Purgatory involves me being locked in a gloriously well stocked wine cellar with no corkscrew.

Edited July 24, 2008 by KatieLoeb (log)

[mappel]

Without a corkscrew, I usually push the cork inside the bottle. Theory being that if I'm without a corkscrew, I'm usually without good stemware and usually not drinking anything that would be adversely affected by the part of the cork the wine wasn't already in contact with. This produces less spoilage than cork-damaging methods.

Mark

[Fat Guy]

Another advantage of screw tops.

[annecros]

Once when we were dating and on a camping trip, hubby set a screw in the cork and pulled it out with pliers gripping the screw head. I sat on the ground grasping the bottle, and he sort of used me as leverage.

Gotta love a man that never goes anywhere without a toolbox.

[MarkinHouston]

A saber does wonders, but is it only for champagne?

[nikkib]

how on earth does one get caught without a corkscrew?!

[Duncan]

Anyone else have a creative alternative to the corkscrew?

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Isn't the classic answer just to hit the base of the bottle

?

[Alex]

how on earth does one get caught without a corkscrew?!

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That was my first thought -- there's a travel Screwpull in both our cars. But then I remembered being at a friends' place when their lever-type corkscrew, the only one in the house, gave up the ghost. If I hadn't kept the Screwpull in my car, it would have been time for Plan B (a difficult choice between pushing in the cork or a trip to the 24-hour Meijer).

[NVNVGirl]

how on earth does one get caught without a corkscrew?!

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That was my first thought -- there's a travel Screwpull in both our cars. But then I remembered being at a friends' place when their lever-type corkscrew, the only one in the house, gave up the ghost. If I hadn't kept the Screwpull in my car, it would have been time for Plan B (a difficult choice between pushing in the cork or a trip to the 24-hour Meijer).

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I agree~ I keep at the very least, those cheapy hotel corkscrews in every one of my handbags, in my luggage and in my car; you never know when you're going to want to "test" a bottle out in the parking lot of Trader Joe's before going back in to buy a case .

[Peter Green]

how on earth does one get caught without a corkscrew?!

←

That was my first thought -- there's a travel Screwpull in both our cars. But then I remembered being at a friends' place when their lever-type corkscrew, the only one in the house, gave up the ghost. If I hadn't kept the Screwpull in my car, it would have been time for Plan B (a difficult choice between pushing in the cork or a trip to the 24-hour Meijer).

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I agree~ I keep at the very least, those cheapy hotel corkscrews in every one of my handbags, in my luggage and in my car; you never know when you're going to want to "test" a bottle out in the parking lot of Trader Joe's before going back in to buy a case .

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The Swiss Army Knife.

Don't leave home without it (although you have to pack it in the luggage now, not in your hand carry).

[Pebs]

The Swiss Army Knife.

Don't leave home without it (although you have to pack it in the luggage now, not in your hand carry).

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[NVNVGirl]

Oh yeah...I forgot about THAT . I usually carry one of those in my purse too and I rarely fly, so no need to remove it....I don't know that I've ever actually used it though. But I'm prepared if I ever need it, LOL (and lose all my other corkscrews).

[lala]

I always have a corkscrew in my bag. I panicked one time as we were pulling up to the airport and lunged over the backseat to put it in my checked luggage!

[phlox]

I pretty much always have a waiters' key on me. It's one of the things that's always in my purse along with Aquaphor for lip balm and Between dental gum.

[Dianabanana]

That video was pretty awesome. I'm going to try that!

[edsel]

Isn't the classic answer just to hit the base of the bottle

?

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That was hilarious! Safer and less wasteful than lopping off the top of the bottle with a chef's knife.