To Zork or not to?

[Ebonheart]

I was in the winemaking supplies store on Saturday pricing corkers, as we have about 15 gallons to bottle in the next 2-3 months. These are our first batches, so we're going in fresh. I'm seeing $20-30 for a hand corker (I tested it, Hard to use). $70 for a floor presser (much much easier, but $70). But then they showed me the zorks (http://zorkclosures.com/). They said they've seen people have good luck with these, and they supposedly last as long as a good artificial cork (5-7 years for home winemaking). They're about twice as expensive as artificials ($15 for 30, vs $9 for 30), but no corker needed.

Anyone have any strong opinions on these one way or another?

 

[GaDawg]

I ordered a gazillion #9 Premium VS1 Agglomerated Corks from Amazon and repackaged them in 30 cork bags. My cost is less than $.09 per cork

 

[MrKevin]

Corks and the floor corker is one place I splurge. The last thing I want in 5 years is to find out I have ruined wine because I should have used a higher quality cork and should have used a good corker. I have to say I have never tried Zorks I have no idea of the quality of their seal.

 

[bkisel]

You seem to be into figuring the cost and that I feel is good...

That $70.00 saved on the floor corker gets you 140 Zorks. That's enough Zorks for 4.66 6 gallon batches of wine. Lets say you do 9 batches a year, then that's ~ $140.00 for the Zorks. Lets say you do 10 batches using the $9.00/30 that's $90.00 for the corks. Take that $90.00 from $140.00 for Zorks and you can put $50.00 towards that floor corker. You're down $20.00 the first year and saving ~ $50.00 a year thereafter [assuming no price changes from what you posted]. Please check my assumptions and math.

 

[moesagoodboy]

If you're going to pursue wine making you will eventually buy the floor corker. Eat the cost now, you won't regret it. Plus, it is fun pushing the corks in and pulling them out.

JOe

 

[Flem]

If you're in it long term, a floor corker is the way to go. I got one from the beginning and haven't looked back. I received a hand corker with my start-up kit and it's still in the package. Good Luck! Haven't used Zorks. I guess I'm more of a purist in that regard.

 

[littlefootwines]

Hi i used zorks on my first kit and got to tell ya that anything that you push in by hand is not a good tight fit. The zorks still turned in the bottle but were hell to get out. The next kit i did i got a floor corker best money spent the zorks are ok for early drinkers i think but would not use them on anything i would hold onto for a time just would not trust the fit. Spending money on good supplies is the best thing to do you will see years down the road when you look back and find that floor corker is double what you payed for it.

Shane

 

[DoctorCAD]

$25 for a double lever corker (mine is going on 5 years old) is not really that expensive. I also do not think it is hard to use, once you get it set up right.

 

[Noontime]

Looks like Shane put the nail in the coffin, but I have to agree with everyone...go with a floor corker and the highest quality natural cork your finances allow. We use the technical corks; disks of natural cork on both ends of an agglomerated cork. Your wine is going to be contacting this cork for years (hopefully), and the most important thing to consider is the oxygen permeability...how much O2 is getting through that closure to your wine.

 

[salcoco]

Zorks are great. I started using them years ago in amateur wine making and in my commercial winery. Caution wine bottle must meet Zork spec or the Zork is to tight or to loose. Other cost factor is the decorative cover over the cork. We went to Zorks to keep away from cork taint.

 

[LoneStarLori]

I have used Zorks on some of my wine. Easy on, not so easy to get off.
I am one of the few here that does not own a floor corker. I have a double lever hand corker I use on the floor. I just sit on a chair with the bottle on a towel between my feet so it doesn't slip. I don't find it too tiring or difficult.

 

[bkisel]

I have used Zorks on some of my wine. Easy on, not so easy to get off.
I am one of the few here that does not own a floor corker. I have a double lever hand corker I use on the floor. I just sit on a chair with the bottle on a towel between my feet so it doesn't slip. I don't find it too tiring or difficult.

I was fat, dumb and happy with my double lever corker until the Italian floor corker showed up under the Christmas tree last December. There is actually one negative I found concerning the floor corker and that is finding the room to store it assembled. I assemble before and disassemble after each bottling session. Assembly and dis-assembly is quick and easy enough so the numerous floor corker positives do out weigh this one negative.

 

[seth8530]

I can not say too much about Zorks, but I got myself a floor corker and I have not looked back since then.

 

[JDesCotes]

I found a floor corker for sale online for $20 from a wine shop owner who went out of business and was liquidating. Used it for the first time yesterday and WOW are they easy to use. I had 30 bottles corked in less than 5 minutes!

 

[littlefootwines]

Zorks are great. I started using them years ago in amateur wine making and in my commercial winery. Caution wine bottle must meet Zork spec or the Zork is to tight or to loose. Other cost factor is the decorative cover over the cork. We went to Zorks to keep away from cork taint.

Just to give this some fairness i did some looking and have found like salcoco stated that its being used in commercial wine making, i did that a year ago also when i was looking at the zorks and found more home wine makers using them and some of the results were not happy. My self i have used them as i said and might use them again as a matter of fact i just did 30 peach chard with zorks [wanted to use them up] but i wont use them on the super tuscan when the time comes. I was just starting in wine when i got them and the homebrew shop i go to sold me the right bottles to use with them so like i said easy in, hard to get out, and it twists in the bottle so i wont trust them to good wine. Also i have only seen statments to the fact that the wine sealed with zorks is at the most 3 years old. sorry to be a bit windy here but i feel its important to give all information when you can .

Shane

 

[LoneStarLori]

I was fat, dumb and happy with my double lever corker until the Italian floor corker showed up under the Christmas tree last December.

Ok, a couple of questions. Did the floor corker make you lose weight and remember why you walked into a room? Cause if it did, I WANT ONE NOW!

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

We have been using the Colonna capper/corker, I like to use the euro capper on the zorks, it seats them down good and straight and secure each time. If they are hard to get out they are working, corks are hard to get out, if the zork fell out you would complain, if the zork is in very secure and you have to give it a big of a tug to get it out its sealed very well. We have been using them for several years and we usually combine half in cappers or corks and half in zorks, fun stuff to play with and we would never limit ourselves to only what is traditional, that is much to limiting. WVMJ

 

[JohnT]

Just to add my 2 cents..

The floor corker is a rather indestructible piece of equipment. I purchased my first on in 1995 and it has corked tens-of-thousands of corks without a complaint. This makes the corker well worth the $70.

Zorks are OK, but as others have said there are advantages and disadvantages.

As far as the advantages, like you say, you do not need a corker. Another advantage is that they are NOT natural cork, but synthetic. This means that you can store your wine standing up (perhaps taking up less room). Zorks are also resealable.

The disadvantages: They cost WAY more that natural cork. The added expense of Zorks would more than pay for a floor corker over time.
They are also synthetic (I am not a big fan) so that wine will oxidize much faster over time. I would not store wine for more than 3 years with a zork. additionally, I am a bit of a traditionalist. I like the look of a natural cork and the whole process of using a corkscrew.


You need to assess your situation and decide if Zorks are for you.