Best cork for a lever corker

[TonyP]

I use a lever corker. Those familiar with lever corkers probably know passing the cork through the tapered chamber modifies the length of the cork. As a result, some (probably many) corks are not suitable for lever corkers.

I'm starting to bottle-age wine over 2 years and would appreciate information on the best corks to use with a lever corker. My understanding is that the maximum size I can use is 38mm X 24MM, that is #9 X 1 1/2". Is this correct? If so, I'm concerned the shorter length will impact the cork's protection. How do I overcome this?

Let me save many of you some time: "Get a floor corker".

Thanks,

 

[Boatboy24]

Are you talking about the double lever corker? I really struggled with #9 corks when I was using mine. I stuck with #8's because I couldn't consistently get the 9's all the way in the bottle. (Granted, i was trying to use 1 3/4) Have you had success using 9's with the lever corker?

 

[Geronimo]

I hated corking until I tried Zorks. I couldn't do any better than you describe with the lever corker, and even my Ferrari floor corker was a nightmare with champagne corks. I gave up!

 

[TonyP]

Are you talking about the double lever corker? I really struggled with #9 corks when I was using mine. I stuck with #8's because I couldn't consistently get the 9's all the way in the bottle. (Granted, i was trying to use 1 3/4) Have you had success using 9's with the lever corker?

I've used #9 corks with my double lever corker many times without difficulty; probably 10 seconds or so per bottle. However, I didn't go over 38mm or 1 1/2".