Most of my wine - 24 gallons so far this year - is consumed within 1- 1/2 years. I had been corking but recently discovered re-using twist top bottles. Reading up on those caps it seems they are threaded aluminum caps with a thin seal inside made from PVDC material which is proven excellent in the food industry for sealing out air and moisture and is quite durable. Bottles no longer need to be stored laying down to keep the cork moist and viable. I’m thinking that wine that is not intended to be saved for an extended period of time could re-use twist caps in place of corks and have a reliable method of re-sealing the bottle as opposed to trying in vain sometimes to save a corked up bottle for a day or so after opening. Comments please.
PVDC sealing screw caps vs. corks
- Thread starter Dewbie
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Screwcap bottles can typically be re-used a few times, but be sure to tighten the cap tightly. And while you can stand the bottles up, you want to lay them on their sides for a week or two, to ensure they are not leaking.
These caps are not intended for re-use, and the seal will fail at some point. If the bottle is on its side, you'll get a slight leak, in which case transfer the wine to another bottle and recycle the leaking bottle. If you stand the bottle up and it has a leak, you risk having the wine go bad without you knowing it.
Regarding your last point, there's no difference between a partial bottle with a screwcap or with a cork re-inserted. Each has equal chances of oxidizing. I suggest you purchase a vacu-vin -- I'm been using mine for many moons, and it makes a tremendous difference.
I switched to Nomacorcs about 5 years ago, as they solve one of my problems (mold on outside of cork due to storage conditions). They have the advantage that the bottles can be stood upright, although I normally store bottles on their sides.
These caps are not intended for re-use, and the seal will fail at some point. If the bottle is on its side, you'll get a slight leak, in which case transfer the wine to another bottle and recycle the leaking bottle. If you stand the bottle up and it has a leak, you risk having the wine go bad without you knowing it.
Regarding your last point, there's no difference between a partial bottle with a screwcap or with a cork re-inserted. Each has equal chances of oxidizing. I suggest you purchase a vacu-vin -- I'm been using mine for many moons, and it makes a tremendous difference.
I switched to Nomacorcs about 5 years ago, as they solve one of my problems (mold on outside of cork due to storage conditions). They have the advantage that the bottles can be stood upright, although I normally store bottles on their sides.
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I have been routinely using some screw caps, mainly with the intent of taking to a club meeting/ having something that is easy to carry when partially emptied. Like Bryan I lay flat to check for leaks, then store upright.
Like Bryan I am using Nomacork. I will put a vacuum head on partial bottles and then seal with Nomacork for longer storage of partial bottles
Like Bryan I am using Nomacork. I will put a vacuum head on partial bottles and then seal with Nomacork for longer storage of partial bottles
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You’ve gotten good advice already. I’ve been to Germany quite a few times and was quite surprised to find that not only is good wine (and beer) very cheap relative to the USA most wine is in screw cap bottles. So yes screw cap bottles will work for what you’ve outlined.
Also, it may be possible to buy new caps for your screw cap bottles because as Bryan pointed out they most likely will eventually fail to seal.
Also, it may be possible to buy new caps for your screw cap bottles because as Bryan pointed out they most likely will eventually fail to seal.
Port Jerry
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I have been reusing screwed caps for about 10 years now. I mostly make Rubarb wine, 10 gallons a year, because we have a huge rubarb patch. Most of it gets drank within 2 years, or given away .
I seal the caps with paraffin wax and have never had any go bad.
I melt the wax in a double boiler. (please research how to melt in a double boiler, it's dangerous if you don't) I invert the bottles in the melted wax watching for bubbles, it's sealed when they stop.
Two years ago I made a kit red wine.
These I borrowed a Corker for knowing they would be aged in the bottles. I did use bottles designed for corks.
Opened my first one on Father's Day, wow, I will be doing more red kits.
TexasTexasBobby
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I spent 12 years in the Middle East where almost all of us Westerners had some sort of "science project" going on. Mine was red wine and distilled spirits. I brought back all my kit and one real plus were bottles. The grocery stores sold grape juice in Grolsch style liter bottles. I have cases of them and they work great for my wine. I did replace the gaskets with food grade silicone. The one downside is if you give a friend a bottle of your wine you have to extract a promise to give your bottle back when it is empty.
No bottle returned, no more wine. Simple solution!
I use these for my screwtop bottles. I picked up a bunch of used screwtops from a winery I frequent, then I removed the labels and the sleeve at the top (that was an adventure since these were metallic and I had to use a knife to cut through them enough to be able to use a pliers to peel them off). Once I did that, the bottlecaps I bought worked great. So far, I think I have had only one leak after reusing them a bunch of times.
They can be tough to open the first time because they are all one piece with the sleeve. I just leave the sleeves on the bottles after they are opened, although one friend gave me the bottle back without the sleeve. They're tough plastic so I have no idea how she got it off the bottle! As I mentioned, the caps themselves seem to work fine for reuse multiple times without leaks.
They can be tough to open the first time because they are all one piece with the sleeve. I just leave the sleeves on the bottles after they are opened, although one friend gave me the bottle back without the sleeve. They're tough plastic so I have no idea how she got it off the bottle! As I mentioned, the caps themselves seem to work fine for reuse multiple times without leaks.
