How to open a wine bottle with your shoe

Unless you’re Tom Cruise in Cocktail or a member of the Swiss Army, chances are you don’t have a corkscrew on you at all times. Such an oversight can make impromptu picnics as dry as an Amish wedding. Thankfully barmaid Nina Thomas of [[princeofwales-ampthill.com The Prince Of Wales] in Ampthill has this advice on how to remove the cork from your merlot with the humble shoe….

“Grab a bottle of wine, remove the foil covering, then take off your shoe,” says Thomas. “Place the bottom of the bottle securely within the shoe and make sure it’s a tight fit — if it’s not you might need to borrow the shoe of a friend with slightly smaller feet.”

“Keeping the bottle firmly in the shoe, find a very solid, vertical surface. Brick walls or trees work best. Check that the surface is completely sturdy. If the tree or wall looks at all likely to fall down, find something else.”

“Carefully and precisely slam the heel of your shoe-bottle repeatedly against the solid surface. Use two hands to keep the bottle securely inside the shoe at all times. As you repeat the striking action, the top of the cork will gradually push its way out.”

“Keep pounding away with the shoe-bottle until you can see enough of the cork poking out of the top to get a grip of it. The harder you slam the bottle, the faster the cork will come out. Once there’s enough cork visible to get some purchase on, remove it with your hand or your teeth.”

If you'd rather use a bottle opener, these are the best corkscrews we've used.

Confused? Check out the video below, thicky.