hmmmn. . . neat trick, but sounds a bit tedious.

try this one on for size (great for camping trips)



hold the bottle of wine firmly a few inches from the base in your good hand and hit the bottom of the bottle sharply (and squarely) against the trunk of a tree. this will force the cork out of the opening of the bottle. you can usually open a bottle of wine with three or four strikes. the cork will come out gradually, so you can get it to the point where you can pull it out, rather than having it jump out at you.



*requisite words of warning:

1) wine bottles are made of glass.

2) people have a soft outer coating.



now, I have probably opened close to 100 bottles throughout my life using this method (I enjoy camping), but I *have* broken two, and one time I sliced my hand a bit. (hence the "hold the bottle towards the base where the glass is thicker") both times, it was a thin, cheap bottle.



all in all, I feel those are pretty good odds.



if you find this tip useful, please pass it along at your next campout.

