3 Hacks For Opening A Wine Bottle

One sommelier tests 3 ways to find out which works best

The Internet is full of hacks for opening a wine bottle without a corkscrew. Household instruments ranging from a key to a pencil can supposedly sub for a wine key. Skeptical, we ask an expert to step in.

Alex Alan, the sommelier at Brooklyn's Freek's Mill, tests three popular wine hacks to determine which (if any) actually work:

① Using a pencil to shove the cork down into the bottle.

② Twisting out the cork with a key.

③ Holding a book against the bottle and smacking it against the wall.

Watch the video to find out which wine bottle hacks are actually useful and which ones you should pour down the drain. Once you find out how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew, you'll have the best trick at the holiday partyand a very good excuse to pop open a fresh bottle.