The easiest way to remove a broken cork out of a glass bottle is to push the cork into the bottle. You can simply use a handkerchief or a piece of tissue paper (for safety purposes).
The process is very simple:
- put a piece of tissue folded thrice or four times on the broken cork,
- put your thumb on the surface, and gently push it inwards.
- You can also use a cylindrical object that is a little less in diameter than the mouth of the bottle.
- In that case, you can gently blow it like a hammer in order to push the cork. But ensure the glass bottle does not get a hard hit. Otherwise, pieces of glass and other debris cork can contaminate the wine.
Tip:
The Only Factor That Matters Is Your Patience
Breaking cork into pieces without opening the wine bottle happens even with professionals and you need not feel embarrassed about it. You must keep calm and handle things with utmost care.
More Ways to get a broken cork out of a wine bottle
Even for professionals, removing the cork out of bottles isn’t an easy task. Sometimes they broke the cork into pieces. Among various ways to get the broken cork out of the bottle, the simplest way of pushing the cork inside the bottle is discussed above, and let us talk about a few more.
The Scientific Way
The most important factor in avoiding this problem in the first place is to open the cork with the proper instrument. You can also take the help of science. Yes, submerge the top of a bottle of wine/champagne in hot water for like 30 seconds, then try to open it.
Heating the top of the bottle will expand the glass bottle a bit, and the cork, on the other hand, won’t expand. This process will help loosen the cork a little bit and also lessen the firm grip of the cork on the bottle.
If you have a tap with running hot water, it’s then a blessing in disguise. You can put the top of the bottle under hot running water for 30 seconds. Use a cloth to hold the bottle as the glass bottle may get heated up, and you might drop the bottle. Once it is done, you can use the traditional way of removing the cork out of the bottle.
Pulling The Cork Out Of The Bottle
One other way for people can make it easier to remove the broken cork out of the bottle is by pulling out the broken part of the cork with the help of a handkerchief or boots. Yes, boots/shoes and handkerchief. One of the facts is that the base of the glass bottle is quite thick and not easy to break.
You can use your shoes, put the bottle in the place of the heels of your legs, and gently hammer it on a hard solid surface. Make sure it isn’t on the wall or tiled floor. A platform of marble is a preferable option for hammering. The same thing can be done using your handkerchief.
You can fold the handkerchief into 5-6 layer in an exact half shape, place it at the bottom of a glass bottle and gently hammer it on a hard surface. But make sure a handkerchief covers the entire base of the bottle.
This process can be perilous if the bottle is not appropriately handled. Avoid hitting it too hard on the surface and shatter the bottle into pieces. To avoid accidents, use a rubber surface (if you have any).
The rubber helps in avoiding brittle damage to the bottle and probably will remove the broken cork of the bottle. Also, in case of using a handkerchief, do not use wet kitchen cloth or any slippery cloth, that directly will help in avoiding accidents.
Removing A Cork Out With A Screw
As cork is made of oak wood, it is not obviously smooth or soft material. The density of wood is relatively high so you can use any metallic object like a screw or nail to remove the broken cork.
Using a screw and hammer, you can remove the cork smartly. You need to drive the screw into the cork. Make sure the screw is penetrated to half the depth of the remaining part of the cork. In no case do you need to hammer a screw into the cork? Hammering the screw can cause breaking the edge of the bottle and a piece of glass can fall into wine/champagne.
Now put the hammer’s claws around the head of the screw and gently pull the cork. In no case, turn the hammer clockwise or anticlockwise. This practice will unscrew the screw from the cork and spoil the cork and you won’t be able to make it any other way.
Pull Out The Cork Using a Kitchen Knife
This is again one of the simplest techniques to get the broken cork out of the wine/champagne bottle. This technique needs no special object except the kitchen knife.
You can use a thick and hard knife(mainly the one used to cut meat). Using a knife, you just have to drive the knife into the cork. Make sure it gets like 2-3 inches into the cork to get a good and firm grip with the cork. Try to twist it either clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Check if you have a good grip and once you find it enough to rotate it completely, gently try to rotate it until it’s entirely out of the bottle. In case the cork is broken from almost the top of the cork, then using a knife, you can pull a lit bit, and then you can pull it using your hand.
Pull It Out With A Hanger
Using a wire hanger, you can pull the cork out. In this method, you need to bend the wire hook at a degree which makes it like a fish hook. Bend it in a way that is not twisted or rotated. Push the wire down the bottle alongside the cork. Now, turn the wire to 90 degrees so that it is underneath the cork and in a position to pull the cork out.
Now gently pull the wire out, and the cork should be removed. The only drawback to this method is that you won’t be able to use the hanger again, it could be used to pull the cork out, but not for your clothes.
In all ways to pull the broken cork out of a glass bottle, make sure you are dealing with sharp metallic objects and hence use gloves or dry cloth for safety purposes. The cloth should be thick like a towel.
Also, there might be some debris falling into the content of the bottle, so filter it a couple of times properly before using it and make sure any piece of shattered glass is not fallen into the drink.
Also Read:- How To Recork Wine
