Comments on: Opening wine with a shoe–is a Croc

By: Robin C

Robin C — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:17:59 +0000

The French are great blagueurs. I hope I spelled that right.

By: Stitches, cover typo, Valencia, paper bottles, Burgundy – sipped & spit | Dr Vino's wine blog

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:44:46 +0000

[...] opening a bottle with a shoe A reader tries to open a wine bottle with a shoe at a party and gets a trip to the hospital and six stitches for the effort. [...]

By: Jaime

Jaime — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:28:46 +0000

Thanks for your comment, because I’m also waiting this “opportunity” to open with a shoe…..

By: spacechem

spacechem — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 04:54:49 +0000

I live in China. Was at a small dinner party last night- someone brought a bottle of (Chinese) wine, but no one had a corkscrew. Thought to myself, “Now’s the time to try this!” Decided to go into the bathroom so as not to mar the paint with my shoe. Few whacks, and the bottle shattered in my hand. 3cm gash across my thumb, 6 stitches, and about 3 hrs. in a Chinese hospital. Will not be trying this again. Interesting to note an above comment that this method requires considerable force to work…

By: Winobee » Blog Archive » No corkscrew. No problem.

Winobee » Blog Archive » No corkscrew. No problem. — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:40:37 +0000

[...] find from @1372adventures! Check out more fun ways to TRY and open wine sans corkscrew from Dr. Vino! Like him, I can’t get it to work. But maybe practice makes perfect. Do I sense a new [...]

By: Luther

Luther — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 06:33:01 +0000

Great work.. but yeah, you could save a lot of time and hassle by .. you know, just twisting off a screwcap.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:17:06 +0000

Hey everyone,

This trick actually works quite well, and yes, a dress shoe works best. You have to hit it against the wall/tree harder than you’d expect. The heel of your shoe has to hit flat against the wall. If you’d like to see how I did it, here’s the article and video. http://bottlenotes.com/dailysip/wine-tips/open-wine-bottle-corkscrew-crazy-way-to-open-a-bottle

Having an audience really helps–especially if they’re the type of people who will rip on you for ages if you fail.

By: Samk

Samk — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:04:21 +0000

The trick is actually pretty useful for those unfortunate instances when the cork snaps in half while being opened with a screw. It’s better than pushing the cork in, because you won’t get cork particles floating around in your wine. Also, it’s much easier to do when half of the cork has already snapped off, as there’s now only half of the friction holding the cork in place.

By: Joel Burt

Joel Burt — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:37:22 +0000

I have done it several times!

By: Cybercellar

Cybercellar — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:13:47 +0000

ha ha, those video’s are hysterical! Have not tried it, definitely have to after seeing that!
Hope all is well on your side. Any South African wine features coming up

Keep well.

Jen@cybercellar

By: Robbie C

Robbie C — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:24:34 +0000

I did it last night and it totally works! I was shocked. I think the trick is using a shoe without much padding. I tried it with a hiking boot first and it didn’t work. Then I tried it with a dress shoe (like in the video) and it worked. I also used the concrete wall in my house. You really need a hard surface for it to work.

Oh, I should mention. I had to hit it with all my might. I’m not a small or particularly weak person, but it was still difficult for me to hit it hard enough to make the cork come out.

It was so worth the try…my friends were amazed…thanks for the idea!!

By: Pamela Wittmann

Pamela Wittmann — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:54:47 +0000

Happy someone can attest to this!
Thanks, Taylor!
Pat Kiernan from NY One News also succeeded, although after a few tries. See video here:
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/07/ny1s_pat_kierna.php

The physics of this opening is explained in the video that appeared this week, albeit in French: the blast wave (my dictionary’s translation for “onde de choc”) travels from the bottom of the bottle that hit the wall to the cork side pushing it each time slightly.

And on a related topic, I engage everyone to observe how to saber a bottle of champagne with a tea spoon (even if opening a bottle of champagne in the woods or up a cliff hardly poses a problem, but doing it in style is another story). Another physics wonder.
http://www.necn.com/07/14/10/Trendsetter-Sabrage/landing_styleboston.html?blockID=271278&feedID=4740

By: Taylor Eason

Taylor Eason — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:54:41 +0000

I am here to declare that I have successfully opened many bottles of wine using tree trunks. The key is to use a soft-barked tree that will give just slightly to prevent too much pressure on the bottle bum. Great party trick.

I will point out, however, that the trick ONLY works with real cork and not synthetic. It works by building up pressure within the bottle so it pushes the cork out from within.

When my iPhone 4 arrives, I’ll video it and at least you’ll “know” someone who will do it authentically.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:05:51 +0000

I wouldn’t know… I am never without a corkscrew.

By: ss

ss — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:44:30 +0000

Have you tried contacting the Mythbusters? Perhaps they can do a show about opening wine without a corkscrew. As long as there is a possibility of an explosion at some point, they should be all over it.