Remove a Broken Cork

If you're trying to open a bottle of wine or champagne and the cork breaks, you can still get it out with a bit of ingenuity and effort. There are several methods for removing a broken cork like using a screw, knife, pushing the cork in, or popping it out with force.

Steps

Removing a Cork with a Screw

1. Grab a lengthy wood screw. A sheet metal screw will work, too. It also helps to grab a hammer and a screwdriver.
   • For this method you need a screw that’s long and sturdy enough to act as a corkscrew.
   • If you have a corkscrew, this will be your best bet as it’s designed to pull the cork out of the bottle. However, it’s assumed here that you don’t have one.
2. Twist the screw into the broken cork. You will need to gently, but firmly insert the screw into the broken cork by twisting it down.
   • If you have a screwdriver it could be useful here for inserting the screw without pushing the cork further down.
   • If you notice the cork is being pushed down, stop. Try creating a small hole with the point of a knife for the screw to go into.
   • Insert the screw until it is far enough into the cork so that it won’t pop out. But you also need to leave enough room for the claws of the hammer to grab the screw. Try not to drive the screw through the cork if you can. Doing so can make it harder to pull the cork out of the bottle.
3. Place the hammer’s claws around the screw. Once you have the screw, at least, {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} or so into the cork, begin pulling up the screw.
   • Instead of pulling straight up, the hammer should work like a fulcrum. Like you would with certain corkscrews, you want to apply a downward force on the handle of the hammer to lift the screw and cork up.
4. Pull the cork out. Push down on the hammer’s handle to act as a lever to pull the screw upward taking the cork with it.
   • If using the hammer as a fulcrum doesn’t work and it looks like the cork is going to break, then try pulling straight up.
   • You may also have to use your fingers and grab the head of the screw and pull up with force.
   • Take your time and move slowly. The cork will be weakened from breaking.

Removing the Cork with a Knife

1. Grab a knife. Use a sharp knife that is thin enough to get into the opening of the bottle.
   • For this method, you’ll have better luck if you use a flat knife and not a serrated one. The flat knife will be able to smoothly slide into the cork without as much resistance as a serrated knife.
2. Insert the knife into the cork near the cork’s edge and the neck of the bottle. Push the knife about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} into the cork.
   • Don’t push the knife into the center of the cork. You need to get it in on the edge so that when you turn it you can make larger turns. You’re not unscrewing the cork as much as you’re turning the knife and cork together. This motion is more like turning a door knob than unscrewing a bottle cap.
3. Turn the knife. Pull up as you turn the knife. Be very careful here as you will now need to grip the flat part of the knife’s blade.
   • Wear gloves if you have some to protect your fingers.
   • Start turning the knife, very slowly, around the mouth of the bottle. The knife should be angled at roughly forty-five degrees to give it leverage.
   • You may have to try wedging the blade of the knife between the bottle and the cork, depending on how much cork you have to work with.
4. Twist the cork out. Once you’re able to pull the cork up enough to get a good grip with your fingers, remove the knife.
   • As soon you don’t the need the knife as a wedge to pull up the cork, put it down and remove the remainder of the cork with your fingers. Then, enjoy your wine or champagne.

Pushing the Cork Into the Bottle

1. Remove any debris from the cork. Pushing the cork down into the bottle is the easiest way to get to your drink, but it’s also the messiest to deal with. If your cork has broken and you can’t pull it out using other methods, you can always push it in.
   • Before you go pushing the cork into the bottle, make sure to remove any debris that you can from the cork. You will always end up with some, but try to make it easier on yourself and get rid of as much as possible.
   • Make sure to do this somewhere you are ok with possibly wine or champagne squirting out of the bottle. You should not be wearing any clothing you like for this method. The pressure that you release when pushing the cork down into the bottle may cause some of the liquid to spray out.
2. Push the cork into the bottle. Using your fingers, push the cork down until it falls into the bottle.
   • You will now have access to your drink, but there is also a cork and some debris in the wine or champagne. Quickly strain the liquid.
3. Pour your wine through a coffee filter or strainer. After the cork lands in the bottle, use a coffee filter to strain out the residual cork pieces.
   • If you have a glass coffee pot like a Chemex with paper filters you can pour your wine from your bottle into the container.
   • The filter will catch all the cork debris and let the liquid pass through.
   • You can also use any paper filter over any type of container.
4. Pour the wine into a new container. You can rinse the bottle and pour the wine back in using a funnel. You may want to use another container, though. If most of the cork is still in the bottle, you can also just pour the wine into a decanter. Then, enjoy.
   • Once you push a cork into a bottle, you won't be able to easily remove it. It's best to store your liquid in a new bottle.

Pushing the Cork Out of the Bottle

1. Grab a hard-soled shoe or a towel. This method is best saved as a last resort as you will be hitting the bottle on a hard surface like a wall or tree.
   • You should not try this method on drywall or any weak structure. The pounding could break or damage your walls or furniture.
   • This method is very dangerous as you can easily break the bottle, causing the glass to shatter. The glass can injure you severely. Proceed with extreme caution.
2. Hit the bottom of the bottle. Wrap the bottom of the bottle in the towel or place inside the opening of a hard-soled shoe. Then carefully hit the bottom of the bottle onto your hard surface.
   • The shoe should be sturdy like a dress shoe. It should have a solid, flat heel.
   • If you have a towel, make sure to wrap the towel evenly so that the part of the bottle hitting your hard surface is as flat as possible.
   • Hit the bottle on your surface with a slow and consistent rhythm. The force of your motion and the movement of the liquid will slowly begin to push the cork upward out of the bottle.
3. Twist the rest of the cork out of the bottle. Once the cork has begun to emerge from the bottle, grab it with your fingers and pull it out.
   • Don’t keep hitting the bottle when you see that you can grab the cork. If you hit the bottle on the surface and force the cork out, your liquid will come spraying out after it.
   • Even when pulling the cork out, you may want to give your wine or champagne a few minutes to settle before pulling out the cork. It may spray when you remove the cork.
4. Enjoy your wine or champagne. Once you have finally removed your cork, you can now sit back and enjoy a hard earned drink.
   • This method of popping out the cork should be saved for last. It is recommended that you push the cork through the bottle before attempting this method.

Tips

• Remove your broken corks in an area where you can easily clean. And where any liquid won’t stain your furniture.
• Take your time when removing broken corks. It can be difficult to get these corks out.
• Look for a Swiss Army knife and try to use the corkscrew on it before resorting to these methods.
• Wear a shirt you don’t care about as liquid may come shooting out when you remove the cork due to built up pressure.

Things You’ll Need

• Screw
• Hammer
• Screwdriver
• Flat edge knife
• Container to pour liquid into
• Coffee filter
• Shoe or towel

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Sources and Citations

• Videos provided by Wineta Com

See also

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• Reuse Screw Top Wine Bottles for Making Wine
• Store Wine

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