[imagesource: Ali Blumenthal/RD.com]

You know that sinking feeling you get when you have a bottle of wine but no corkscrew?

Back in the day, I had no shame and would go from door to door in the neighbourhood looking for a corkscrew.

For the record, knocking on neighbours’ doors asking for a sharp object doesn’t always work out well, and you’ll often find yourself heading home empty-handed to tackle the cork with a knife.

These days, I’m more inclined to save face by pulling out a trick or two which does the double duty of impressing guests, while getting that wine open and into glasses as quickly as possible.

Sharing is caring, so here are five ways to open wine, per CookingLight, for when you don’t have the proper tools.

The old hammer and screw method

This trick lets people know that you own tools and are therefore an adult who can fix things on your own, including the impending wine crisis.

Twist a screw roughly halfway into the cork using a screwdriver, then use a hammer to lift it out in one swift motion.

The shoe method

You’ve probably heard of this one before.

Use a shoe that goes up to your ankle, and preferably with a raised sole. Wrap a dishtowel around the bottle, pop it in the shoe, and smack it against a sturdy wall a few times.

Hold the bottle in place, or else it will be a disaster, and avoid drywall or you’ll have a bigger problem on your hands than the lack of a corkscrew.

Car keys hack

We’ve all used a key to open a beer at some point, but I had no idea that it could be used on a wine bottle.

Insert your key at a slight angle, leaving just a little bit of the key outside of the cork. Use the top of your car key to push the cork clockwise and up and out of the bottle. Make sure to turn the key in circles until the cork is free.

Also, is it just me or does the bottle in the image above look remarkably like the top of the Rupert Wines Optima?

Pump it out

This one comes to us from Reader’s Digest, and is perhaps the simplest method of prying a cork out of a bottle.

Just push the needle of your bike pump into the centre of the cork and pump for a few seconds until the cork pops out.

We’ll end with a bang, and let John Legend talk you through his favourite tricks and tips:

It’s almost Friday, so pour yourself a glass.

It’s 5PM somewhere.

[source:cookinglight&readersdigest]