Cork leaking by

[sleepyemt]

Hey all, so with the drastic temperature changes I've noticed that my corks are leaking by on a few of the bottles (not all). I've shrink wrapped a few, when I noticed these. Do I need to recork? Are the ones I've shrink wrapped ok? Will a touch of stars an the shrink wrapping work ok?


N

 

[Pumpkinman]

If they are leaking, air can get in and the wine will get oxidized.
What kind of corker and corks are you using?
I would remove the corks and re-cork them asap

 

[TonyP]

If they are leaking, air can get in and the wine will get oxidized.
What kind of corker and corks are you using?
I would remove the corks and re-cork them asap

Absolutely, and don't assume the non-leaking corks are OK. Also, did you leave the bottles upright for a few days?

 

[Runningwolf]

You need to find the issue first! Without knowing I'm going to guess you're using Noma corks! Please let us know. If you just pull the corks and recork you solved nothing. There is a reason why your corks are leaking. Were your bottles filled to full? What are you using for a corker?
If you are using Noma Corks, try this. Push one through the corker (not into a bottle). Now immediately inspect that cork (preferably with a magnifying glass) and look for a slight scatch. That would be your problem.

Solution would be to buy new corks other than Noma corks and leave the bottles standing up for a few days.

 

[tingo]

Did you soak the corks before corking? How long after corking did they start pushing out?

 

[Runningwolf]

Did you soak the corks before corking? How long after corking did they start pushing out?

Good point. Are they pushing out or leaking as they are set?

 

[sleepyemt]

Ok, so it only 4 bottles total out of the total 30. It being my second wine kit, I did forget to leave the bottles upright for the beginning 2 days... Fermented in June, went through secondary, tertiary and bottled in August...and this has been the first I've noticed which made me think the change in temps... Appropriate amout of head space...

I'm using a double lever corker ....
I don't know the names of the corks but they can be seen here. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/9-straight-corks-15-16-x-1-3-4.html

The corks themselves are not pushing out, just a little weeping by. I didn't really soak them per say when I bottled them, I used K meta and dunked them/ sat in it for a brief time. I thought I remember reading that the soaking can lead to mold?

I really appreciate the help, I know my brewing, but wine is still a little new.... I just want to make sure I don't do the same to the italian barbera that bulk aging.

 

[wineforfun]

Absolutely, and don't assume the non-leaking corks are OK. Also, did you leave the bottles upright for a few days?

Is this something you should do or not? My first bottling, I laid them down right away.

 

[tingo]

They need to stand upright to equalize pressure from air being forced into the bottle. Otherwise they can push back out when they begin to swell from wine absorption when laid down.

 

[Arne]

Is this something you should do or not? My first bottling, I laid them down right away.

It is something I usually do, but don't get too excited if you didn't. If the corks all stayed in, things aren't leaking, no worries. Arne.

 

[cohenhouse77]

I have a similar issue where I end up three bottles out of thirty that have a small drip coming out the tip. It is like a drop of syrup. They are the corks that came with my 6 gallon fruit kit "vintners best". I'm not worried as they will all be consumed quickly, but I am paying attention now.

 

[sleepyemt]

So how long are you supposed to soak the corks before bottling? I thought I read somewhere that you shouldn't...

 

[cpfan]

So how long are you supposed to soak the corks before bottling? I thought I read somewhere that you shouldn't...

That's right.

Steve

 

[Runningwolf]

That's right.

Steve

Steve could you please repeat that one more time!

 

[robie]

Don't ever soak your corks. You can dunk them in Kmeta or spritz them, but don't soak them. Most of us just use a corkador.

As mentioned, maybe you filled the bottles too full and with a little temperature rise, they are leaking. Between the bottom of the cork and the top of the wine, there should be a gap about the size of the width of two fingers. Much less than that and the cork will try to come out or the wine will slip passed the cork. (When you install the cork, it creates a compression inside the bottle. You can't compress the wine, but you can compress the air, so if no air between the cork and the wine, something has to give.)

It is also possible that since you didn't leave the bottles standing upright for a few days and the wine immediately slipped between the cork and the bottle, you never got a good seal.

By the way, what size corks did you use? #8 or #9?

 

[grapeman]

Leaving them standing up allows the corks to fully expand and form a good seal before laying down.

 

[cohenhouse77]

Leaving them standing up allows the corks to fully expand and form a good seal before laying down.

Instead of the school of hard knocks, this is the school of leaky corks. Who knew! I sure learned something new today.

 

[LonelyMassachusetts]

It is something I usually do, but don't get too excited if you didn't. If the corks all stayed in, things aren't leaking, no worries. Arne.

I don't stand them up after bottling as well. I'm pretty sure the purpose of leaving them up is to see if they're still fermenting. If a cork pops up or a bottle explodes it'll be much nicer here instead of it happening in the cellar, soaking your other bottles, racks, or cabinets. I learned this from the NFG Homebrew store owner; she's had experience for years and I trust she knows what she's doing.

 

[Runningwolf]

While your homebrew lady has years of experience, I'm glad to see she is at least leaving the bottles standing up for a few days. The reason though is not to see if they're still fermenting. In most cases if it does referment it's not going to happen in the next few days or even weeks in most cases. The real reason is just what Grapeman stated;

"Leaving them standing up allows the corks to fully expand and form a good seal before laying down."

Once a cork goes through a corker it is compressed so much, this time gives it time to relax again.

 

[NoSnob]

Robie said what I was going to say about inadequate ullage sometimes resulting in leakage. On one of my earliest batches, I left less than an inch of space on some and they leaked a bit around the top during the 3 day period. I removed all those corks, poured off a bit of the excess wine and re-corked - no further problems.

So if you have a few leaking corks during the first few days after corking, check the ullage and compare it with the rest of the batch. You may well find that the leakers are those with the least (and inadequate) amount of ullage. I also notice when corking that those were the bottles that provided the most amount of resistance when I initially corked them.

NS