# How do I get the cork out of a wine bottle when I've messed up the cork? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2001, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390 "2001-09-23T21:18:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/1 "2001-09-23T21:18:14Z")
I went to open a bottle of wine this evening (Zinfadel - I’m a classy lady) and I screwed the corkscrew in, unscrewed it in the customary manner… and the cork stayed there, but just looks a little chewed up now. I did it again and the cork now looks more chewed and screwed. So the cork is still in place, but now with a corkscrew hole through the middle of it. It’s nice wine (It’s not _vintage_ or anything, but it’s nice) and I don’t want to throw it away because I can’t get it open. There isn’t enough room next to the hole to accommodate another attempt at screwing and uncorking, but the wine doesn’t come through the hole… what do I do? Do I push it through? And with what? Other suggestions? Fran ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/2 "2001-09-23T21:24:24Z")
If you have a reasonably sharp knife that will fit in the neck of the bottle you can cut the cork into quarters and a.) extract the pieces with a for or b.) push them through and watch for 'em making their exit as you pour. Don’t push the whole thing through - it’ll drive you nuts when you try to pour. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/3 "2001-09-23T21:26:51Z")
Push it in and filter the wine through a clean coffee filter paper (or just pick aout a few bits of cork from your glass) Although if there’s a hole through the cork, the air will get in an ruin the wine (unless this happened tonight and you drink it tonight). Often a crumbly cork indicates that the wine has been improperly stored and that the air has got in already. ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/4 "2001-09-23T21:29:00Z")
Or, to go directly against **beatle** , just shove that bastard into the bottle. The cork will float away from the neck as you pour. And you’re Jake. Of course you’re gonna get bits of cork in your glass. But it could be worse. You could decant the whole mess into a pitcher (through a sieve to catch the cork bits). It’s up to you. That’s why I only drink out of bottles with convenient screw-tops. Or wine-inna-box. -Rue. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/5 "2001-09-23T21:32:42Z")
Of course you could push it through and get a long straw. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/6 "2001-09-23T21:48:48Z")
The type of “cork-remover” I use is called a **Butler’s buddy** , and sometimes an **ah-so**. It has no screw. it has 2 little thin metal “strips” that slide down on either side of the cork and breaks the seal. After that, you kinda wiggle it out and the cork comes with it. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/7 "2001-09-23T22:01:00Z")
And if you push it in, it gives you an excuse to drink the whole bottle 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/8 "2001-09-23T22:49:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Push it in and filter the wine through a clean coffee filter paper (or just pick aout a few bits of cork from your glass) > > Although if there’s a hole through the cork, the air will get in an ruin the wine (unless this happened tonight and you drink it tonight). > > Often a crumbly cork indicates that the wine has been improperly stored and that the air has got in already. \*\* This is probably what I’ll do. I figure that the hole is merely letting the wine breathe a little - it was opened only tonight and we shall be drinking it tonight - so there’s no damage done. I think it was the fault of my 20-year-old corkscrew rather than the cork itself, so the wine’s okay. **Pesch** - hell , I was going to drink the whole bottle anyway. Hee. It has been suggested that I push the cork through with a screwdriver, but I’m not sure as to the mechanics of that - wouldn’t a screw-driver just dig more holes into the cork? And **Rue** - wine-inna-box is surely the classiest thing invented. Press the little button and out comes the wine. Genius! Who cares about taste when you’ve got convenience and a little button to press? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![xanakis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7bcc69/32.png) [@xanakis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanakis)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/9 "2001-09-23T23:34:53Z")
Eat the whole thing - cork, wine and bottle. It may be a bit extreme but at least you ensure you don’t miss anything. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/10 "2001-09-23T23:50:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\* > And **Rue** - wine-inna-box is surely the classiest thing invented. Press the little button and out comes the wine. Genius! Who cares about taste when you’ve got convenience and a little button to press? 😉 \*\* A proud Aussie invention. Also known as “Château Cardboard”, or “The Westie\* Briefcase”. [sup]\*A _Westie_ is a working class person from the western suburbs of Sydney -such as my good self[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/11 "2001-09-24T01:22:48Z")
If you have a set of proper chopsticks, those work quite well in pushing the cork in. Don’t try it with those flimsy disposable chopsticks. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/12 "2001-09-24T01:32:14Z")
[sub]White Zinfandel aka “spread your legs” wine.[/sub] I say you should try to make the hole in the cork bigger than it already is and pour through that. Then if you don’t finish all of the wine you can plug it up with some Saran Wrap and a rubber band. Then again I have never seen a zinfindel that cost over $20(ever a 10 year old zin) so I think your pretty safe either way. ---
**Author:** ![woolly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ebca7d/32.png) [@woolly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woolly)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/13 "2001-09-24T10:29:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > A _Westie_ is a working class person from the western suburbs of Sydney -such as my good self Careful TLD, I reckon a quick fossick through your SDMB posts would find more than enough evidence to get you thrown out of the fibro’s union permanently. Wouldn’t even rule out the possibility you’re actually are a clandestine Manly supporter. [sub] woolly pulls his Geelong footy jumper over his head in the hope TLD will confuse ignorance with cowardise. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Phlip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Phlip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlip)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/14 "2001-09-24T11:05:04Z")
Pushing those corks through aint easy. Done it once myself. Its a pain in the arse. ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-the-cork-out-of-a-wine-bottle-when-ive-messed-up-the-cork/83390/15 "2001-09-24T11:25:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlip \* > \*\*Pushing those corks through aint easy. Done it once myself. Its a pain in the arse. \*\* Ok who read that and thought he might just be using the wrong body parts to try and push a cork through? 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 ok anyway is early and I find everything amusing.