Bleeding corks

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brottman

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Some of my corks appear to be bleeding on one of my batches of red wine. They were #9 corks inserted with a hand corker. What's really weird, is they've not leaking around the edges, but rather bleeding right through the middle of the corks. These were brand new #9 corks that were soaked in Star Stan for a few minutes prior to being inserted.

The wine bottles have been stored on side for about 6 months.

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Strange, I was going to suggest that you should use #9 corks and you did. Did you stand the bottles up for about 5 days or so after inserting the corks and before laying them on their sides? That is good practice and allows the cork to fully expand after being squeezed by the corker. One other comment that is probably not related. It appears that you have inserted the corks deeper into the bottle than usual.

What kind of corks are they? Where did you get them? I see 5 bottles and 3 are leaking. Is that typical for the entire batch, i.e. 60%?
 
I'm not a corksoaker either and I've never had one leak. I also stand the bottle up for at least 2 days after corking.
 
They are leaking because you soaked them, even for a little while this is what happens. Been there, done that.
 
Thanks everyone I'll stop soaking them. Is it worth recorking the bottles that it's happening to or just roll with it?
 
Thanks everyone I'll stop soaking them. Is it worth recorking the bottles that it's happening to or just roll with it?

Yes, I would try re-corking with dry corks and leave upright for 3 days before laying them down. Not scientific but I sanitize my corks by placing them in a zip lock back with a paper towel damp with K-Meta for 1/2 hour or so.
 

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