Bottling without a corker

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I totally agree with Grapeman......Floorcorker and done!

SET IT AND FORGET IT!

But i do understand because most people are on a budget these days and in that case if you going to do it, do it once! you'll be glad you did....
 
A buddy of mine and myself both have the wine on tap kit. The manufacturer says the wine will keep "for 6 months or more". The bag holds 7L or 1.8 US gal. You can stuff more in the bag but then the bag will stick out the top of the container. Also the manufacturer says bags are single use (obviously, to sell new bags), but my winestore guy it is "possible" to reuse bags. Now that the wine is so handy there is no problem with wine in the bag for 6 months. LOL You can even use your wine kit bag in this dispenser too, had to buy a different cap at my winestore though
 
Last edited:
got my floor corker off of ebay for $30.00 it was local so no ship! Id check there and also craigslist too. dont waste money on a hand corker just use mason jars or screw top wine bottles till you find a good deal on a floor corker!
 
I purchased my floor corker about 25 years ago. Still in use today.



I would advise against mason jars. If you need to purchase mason jars, you could get a plunger style corker for less money.

Also, I would advise against mason jars simply because the lids (even though they are coated) are simply not meant for the high acid environment of a balanced wine. The lids also will provide an air tight seal (IMO a BAD thing).

If you plan on storing your wine for just a couple of weeks, then the mason jars should be fine. If you plan on storing your wine for a year or more, then I would strongly advise against it.

An air tight seal (over time) will serve to amplify any minor imperfections in your wine.

Corks do not provide a perfect air tight seal. In minute amounts, corks allow for micro oxydation that aids in the softening of wine over time. Corks are NOT a perfect air tight seal, thus ideal for the long term storrage of wine.

The properties of cork have not (to date) been successfully duplicated in any of the many types of synthetic closures.
 
So JohnT, we should put the Welches in mason jars? LOL! One of these days I'm gonna have to follow all your advice just to see what turns out.
 
My friend was going over budget that is why he was not able to buy cork and he place the screw cap on the bottle but, as far as I know screw caps are not worth using and even spoils the real taste and aroma of a wine like what synthetic caps do.

I will suggest him to get through this post so that he will find out some better ways of bottling the wine.
 
My friend was going over budget that is why he was not able to buy cork and he place the screw cap on the bottle but, as far as I know screw caps are not worth using and even spoils the real taste and aroma of a wine like what synthetic caps do.

I will suggest him to get through this post so that he will find out some better ways of bottling the wine.


OK, I am getting up on my soap box now....
For the commercial wine industry, of all the synthetic closures on the market today, Screw caps are currently considered the preferred way to go when not going cork.

For amateurs, there are really only two alternatives (to cork) available, Synthetic plastic corks or screw caps.

Plastic corks have been found to allow micro oxidation, but in excessive amounts. A large portion of wines were found to be horribly oxidized after only three to five years of age.

Screw caps provide the complete air tight seal. It is important to realize that the screw cap does nothing to actually spoil the wine, but traps elements of the wine that would normally react with micro-oxidation of natural cork. You should think of screw caps as a seal and not a closure.

Screw caps never took hold in the USA simply because they were used on the cheaper, domestic wines early on in the US wine industry. At the time, all of the expensive wines (considered as high quality coming from Europe) always had a cork closure.

So a stigma developed in the US that screw caps equate to cheap, low quality wines. This actually had nothing to do with the effectiveness of the screw cap as a closure.


ENTER TCA.

For years, commercial wineries could expect that a small percentage of their wines (3 or 4 percent) would end up being "corked". Until rather recently, not much was known about "cork taint" (or the TCA Compound), so the international wine industry started looking for an alternative to cork to protect wine from this scourge.

To put it simply, screw caps are coming back. The use of screw caps has been steadily growing in England and (to a minor degree) in France and other parts of Europe.

The largest user of screw caps (from a % of wine using the product) is Australia. It seems that the Australian wine industry, one of the youngest, has never had the same stigma that the USA had developed concerning screw caps and some rather high end wines are currently available in screw cap.


To make up for the lack of micro oxidation, most wineries take steps to "pre-age" the wine. This mostly means that the wine is aerated before being sealed in the bottle. Additional chemical treatments are also employed such as the use of copper sulfate prior to seal.


OK, now to wrap this up - Cork is considered the best simply because of micro oxidation. Unless you are willing to perform some sort of "pre-aging" steps, I would not advise using screw caps if you intend to age you wine past several months.


Ok, I think I have successfully pounded this into the ground. I am getting off my soapbox, gonna sit down, and then shut up! (please, no applause)
 
Last edited:
OK, I am getting up on my soap box now....
For the commercial wine industry, of all the synthetic closures on the market today, Screw caps are currently considered the preferred way to go when not going cork.....
Ok, I think I have successfully pounded this into the ground. I am getting off my soapbox, gonna sit down, and then shut up! (please, no applause)

*Claps Loudly*:pic LOL! I splash rack into bottles, screw cap, then decant the wine a bit before serving. Works great for me but these aren't wines you would want to age more than a few years. If you want the high quality wines that John seeks, be smart... spend alittle and cork those bottles! Skeeter Pee:r and other fast drinkers, save the cash and use screw tops or (beer) cap em.
There's my 2 cents.
 
I have a hand corker that I used for hundreds of bottles before I got a floor corker in a used package deal along with carboys, corks etc...
I would offer to send it to you for the cost of shipping but im up in Canada.
Maybe someone else nearby has one they are no longer using ?
 
Back
Top