Your Guide
Mose Hayward
Tipsy Vagabond
At this point we’ve spent decades on the road — as well as decades uncorking wine.
We thus have a few opinions about the best way to do this and how to carry something that will both get past airport security worldwide (the TSA / EU regulations / etc.) and successfully open a bottle.
So here is our top pick and our complete guide to dealing with the ornery pieces of cork that can get between a thirsty traveller and a fine wine.
The Best Tiny Travel Corkscrew for Carry-On Bags
The best corkscrew for your carry-on is the Macupan Keychain Corkscrew (or any brand with this design—I’ve used a couple that have been fine).
It’s so simple and unassuming that even the most officious airport security personnel won’t try to confiscate it from you. It’s also so small that you won’t think twice about keeping it in a carry-on, or for that matter a purse, wallet, or on a keychain. The tradeoff is that it doesn’t have a lever mechanism, so with a tougher cork you may end up putting the bottle between your knees and padding your fingers with a towel as you pull. It’s always worked for me though. (We also detail fancier travel wine openers further, for you fancy-pants who want an easiest opening experience and are willing to carry a slightly larger tool).
Do I Really Need a Travel Wine Opener?
Yes. Or do you want to always be resorting to the more savage, spilly ways of opening wine? Or worse, drink beer or water or something?
This Is the Best Travel Corkscrew: It’s Tiny, Non-Confiscatable, Effective
This cute, cheap little tool simply works. For an average bottle of wine, it does its job smoothly; a gentle tug and the cork pulls right out. If the cork is older or more firmly stuck for whatever reason, it may be necessary to put a dish towel over the handle when pulling up to provide padding for your fingers. But we’ve never had it fail to open a bottle of wine.
Also since we recommend travelling with just a wheeled carry-on backpack, space is always a consideration. This corkscrew is the smallest we’ve found, even small enough to slip into a wallet. Generally I attach it to the keyring holder inside my Osprey daypack; a common feature on smartly designed daypacks that keeps your keys handy—and your corkscrew should be just as handy, without a doubt. We’re incredibly conservative packers, but we don’t ever hesitate to have this corkscrew along, just in case.
Importantly, we’ve found reports from various travel bloggers of the other travel corkscrew options getting taken by airport security. For example, Heels First Travel recommended the Boomerang saying that it is “unconfiscatable” but then later posted that she had it confiscated in Italy. Other commenters write of similar experiences with other travel corkscrews, especially in Europe. The main issue is that they all have some sort of sharp blade or corkscrew, and even if it’s short enough to be officially permissible it will sooner or later be blocked by security folks who aren’t clear on the specific rules and afraid to take the chance in letting something through that they shouldn’t (they are tested).
TSA rules for carry-ons state that multitools (like the Leatherman Juice CS3 we discuss below) with scissors having blades of less than 4 in. (10.16 cm.) are permitted, and corkscrews are allowed. Knives are not. EU cabin baggage rules say that sharp tools (blades, scissors) are allowed only up to 6 cm (2.362 in.). But these rules are still no guarantee, especially for world travel, and in the end individual, human, fallible security agents make the final call. Also, anything that looks like it may contain a blade (a corkscrew or a multitool) may trigger closer inspection. We prefer to glide through security unquestioned.
In our personal experience, the corkscrew we recommend is so small that it has never even been given a second glance at a variety of American, Canadian, and European airports (including in Italy), who if they even see it probably don’t understand what it is. Perhaps one day it will be — a very creative interpretation of the prohibition on blades could be stretched to include this piece’s cute, twisted, metal spiral. But I’ve been carrying it through the world’s airports without issue for more than two years of constant nomadism as of this most recent update to this article. If it ever does get confiscated, I’ll post an update here.
UPDATE (December 2019): Gosh darn those officiously vigilant folks at Luton Airport! My little travel wine opener was recently confiscated at this airport and a reader in the comments seems to have reported the same, same place. A corkscrew is not specifically mentioned in the UK tool restrictions for hand luggage, plus it’s such a tiny tool that this is surprising. So I’d possibly avoid having this in luggage when leaving the UK especially Luton — and I know of no other option. Anyway, up to now it had flown worldwide with me without incident for years, and I’m already buying a new one.
UPDATE (November 2023): I’ve been wandering again post-pandemic with this same spirally two-piece corkscrew wonder. No trouble in any airports in Brazil, Mexico, the USA, and Europe.
UPDATE (July 2025): I’ve been all over for the past years (Africa, Europe, and North and South America, always carrying this corkscrew on my keychain. It has gone through every airport without a problem, including Gatewick in London. I see that Makupon now sells a four-piece set at our link which does seem worthwhile since these are so easily lost and could still in practice get confiscated on rare occasions. In general, airport security seems a bit more relaxed about this though.
The Competition: Other Travel Wine Openers
There are a number of other travel options, none of which we feel handle the requirements of oeno-nomadism quite as elegantly as the option above.
The Munkees Mini Keychain Corkscrew is similar to our main pick but the cap covers the corkscrew, supposedly to prevent it from catching on things. We’ve never had a problem with our main pick catching on anything in a luggage or a pocket either, though, and the Munkees Mini solution is just slightly bulkier, and hey, we’re minimalists. But the Munkees Mini is also more comfortable to pull since it’s a bit thicker, and may be a nicer experience. It looks more like a potential weapon, so may raise more eyebrows at airports?
The Pink Pocket Corkscrew is fine, but no better than the simpler, smaller, more compact main pick at the top of this page.
The Jetsetter TSA Compliant Corkscrew attempts to convince airport security to let itself through with big red wording “TSA approved” stamped on its side. Amazon reviewers say that this works out at American airports, but not at European ones. If you’re only checking luggage in America and don’t mind a slightly bulkier tool than our main pick, this tool is nice because the jointed arm gives you extra leverage.
If you really think you need a foil-cutter and you’re willing to risk your tool being confiscated, especially at European airports, you could get the Black Boomerang Corkscrew. It has a clever half-moon “non-blade” for foil-cutting.
We (and everyone else) love Leatherman multitools. They come with 25-year warranties that you will never need, because they’re so well made. I personally used one in the years I worked as a theater technician, and many other technicians of various stripes do as well; the tools are lovely pieces of design and last forever. But they have knives and so can’t be used in carry-on luggage.
At last check the Leatherman Juice models, which are the ones with corkscrews, appear to no longer be in production, but they do sometimes show up at the Amazon link we give here.
Travel Wine Openers: A Side-By-Side Comparison
| Travel Wine Opener | Weight (oz.) | Dimensions (in.) | Features | On Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pink Pocket Corkscrew | 0.3 | 4.5 x 0.8 x 0.8 | • Simple plastic and metal tool | |
| Macupan Multi-Tool | 0.6 | 2.6 x 0.4 x 0.4 | • Identical to the tool above; get whichever is cheaper at the time of purchase | |
| Jetsetter TSA Compliant Corkscrew | 4.2 | 6.7 x 2.3 x 1.2 | • Provides jointed leverage for very easy opening • Likely to be inspected, but but ultimately accepted for American airport carry-ons |
How to Open Wine WITHOUT a Corkscrew in an Emergency
In our experience, the absolute best way to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew is to force the cork into the bottle. This can be accomplished with cutlery, a key, a sturdy pen, and other long, slender rods, but the absolute best if you’re in a kitchen is to grab a wooden spoon.
Put the wine bottle in a sink and put a towel over the spoon as you force the cork into the bottle. Do this little by little; however, you’ll likely spill a bit of wine. In the years preceding my purchase of the tool we now recommend, I did it this way many times, and only had a bottle explode once.
The other, more ridiculous ways of opening wine without a corkscrew are not exactly convenient (this video suggests hammering in and pulling on a nail, and even adding pressure by inserting the tube of a bike pump).
Wrap-Up: The Best Corkscrew for Travel
We think that the best solution for opening wine while on the road is the Macupan Multi-Tool.
Personally, I’d get the set of four to have some backups. This is important.
Have a towel or piece of clothing on hand to wrap around the handle when pulling for comfort. This is not an elegant home solution, but a perfect travel friendly wine-opener.
