The Bike Pump Hack For Opening A Bottle Of Wine In A Pinch

If you find yourself without a corkscrew when opening a bottle of wine or simply want to impress your friends, head out to the garage and grab your bicycle pump. Bicycle pumps are super effective for putting air in tires, basketballs, and, believe it or not, your wine bottle. The air pressure causes the corkscrew to rise so that you can pull it out, leaving you with a perfectly opened bottle of wine to enjoy (without pieces of cork in your glass).

To do this creative corkscrew alternative, after inserting a clean needle into your bicycle pump, push the needle into the cork until you can see it coming out through the opposite end of the cork in the bottle, and slowly pump air into it. Another method that works if the needle isn't long enough to go through the cork, is to insert the needle on the side of the cork so that it's wedged between the cork and the side of the bottle. 

Either way, the air pressure will cause the cork to rise out of the bottle after just a couple of pumps. Just make sure to take caution and pump slowly to allow the cork to rise enough to pull it out with your hands or pliers/tweezers. If done carefully, this wine bottle opening hack works great in a pinch. If you're a fan of this method you might consider buying an air-pressure wine opener that works similarly but is likely safer and easier to use.

A bicycle pump might be useful if you're at home and don't have a corkscrew but you're more likely to be missing a corkscrew when you're on vacation or having a picnic in the park. When you're out and about, there's likely not a bicycle pump nearby. 

It's a familiar scenario for many of us — you arrive at your destination and pull out a bottle of wine but there's no corkscrew in sight. Do you give up? Never. Arguably the object you're most likely to have with you that can uncork a bottle is a key. This method takes some muscle but it can be done. Remove (and clean to the best of your ability) the most jagged-looking key you have on your keychain, push it into the cork on an angle, and, using your thumbs, push the key to rotate the cork and break the seal. Continue using the key like a handle to simultaneously rotate the cork and pull it upwards. 

The cork might break a bit but as long as the key is still in you should be able to keep rotating and pulling upwards. Once it's far enough out of the bottle, pull it out using a towel for traction and inspect your wine for any bits of cork. Once you nail this method down, you'll be impressing all your friends and family with your flair for uncorking wine bottles any place, any time. 

Let's say you've lost your corkscrew, misplaced your keys, and don't have access to a bicycle pump. People have come up with other ways to open wine without a corkscrew, but they aren't always safe. It's not recommended to hit your wine bottle against the wall or use a shoe to pop the cork out. In case it's not obvious, this can easily shatter the glass causing a big mess and physical harm. The same thing goes for using heat — A super dangerous hack on TikTok involving using a flat iron to open wine gained popularity, but since high heat can break glass, it's not advisable.

Instead, in a pinch, try the reverse corkscrew method which might be one of the safest ways to get your wine flowing. Instead of pulling the cork out, use a blunt instrument like a marker, tube of lipstick, or spoon handle to force the cork into the bottle. You can also use a kitchen utensil like a rolling pin to gently tap the blunt object and push the cork down. Yes, your cork will be floating in your wine, but the bottle will be open and the wine can be poured. If opening an older bottle, keep in mind that the cork may be more likely to break. If you end up with bits of cork in the bottle, make sure to pour it through a strainer to avoid it ending up in your glass.