Introduction: How To: Get a Cork Out of an Empty Wine Bottle

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Getting a cork out of an empty wine bottle is not only easy, it's a fun parlor trick to share with everyone. 

Every once in awhile, in the pursuit of a glass of wine a cork breaks or perhaps you've found yourself without a corkscrew and pushed the cork into the bottle yourself--no matter what the case, you now have a cork in your wine bottle. It may seem impossible to remove it, but with one simple item--a plastic shopping bag--you can remove the cork in a matter of minutes. Keep reading to find out how.

Step 1: Materials

You'll need:
  • Plastic Grocery Bag (without holes)
That's it! Simple. It can be an old produce bag, a take out bag, whatever you've got laying around. The only requirement is that it doesn't have any holes. 

Step 2: Insert the Bag

Starting with the closed or sealed end of your plastic bag, feed it into your empty wine bottle. Continue to push the bag inside until the portion of the bag thats inside the bottle is longer than the cork.

Step 3: Orient the Cork

Maneuver the wine bottle until the cork is sitting vertically--parallel to the neck of the wine bottle. Your cork should be nestled in the bottom of the opening. 

Step 4: Fill Your Bag

Blow air into the bag, inflating the bottom of the bag inside the wine bottle around the cork. 

Step 5: Pull

Grasping the bottom of the bag that is sticking out of the wine bottle, pull gently. As you pull the bag out of the bottle, the pressure will increase in the end of the bag, around the cork. Your air filled bag should grab the cork and pull it out of the bottle with the bag. 

This step can take some patience. Go slow and make sure your air filled bag is grabbing the cork. 

Step 6: You're Done!

Congrats!  You can also perform this trick with a napkin, but it's a little harder without the air pocket to grab on to the cork. Recycle or up-cycle that wine bottle however you'd like!