Cork storage

[CassieV]

I'm not going to be bottling for about another 4-6 months. Will putting my leftover corks in a corkidor (sp?) keep them preserved, for lack of a better word? I'd hate to waste the corks I have left. Thanks.

 

[grapeman]

yES THEY WILL BE FINE, BUT BE SURE TO REPLENISH THE K-MATA SOLUTION ONCE IT STARTS GETTING DEPLETED. Sorry about the caps. If you take a sniff cerefully it should take your breath away if it is still strong enough.

 

[ibglowin]

That was funny, kinda like you were at the Dentist office with some N2O!

 

[Wade E]

I agree and use the corkidor method also and Ive had some corks in there for over a year and they were still nice and pliable.

 

[scubaman2151]

I have had left over corks from bottling and just put them into a airtight zipper bag. Think these are ok? How can I tell if they are ok not?
Scuba

 

[Wade E]

Scuba, they are most likely fine but should be sanitized and the best way to do that is use a bucket with lid and a colander. Take the corks and put them in the colander and put that over the bucket. Then take a cup or so of a 3 tsp per gallon k-meta solution and pour that over the corks having that drain into the bucket and then put the lid over that and let the k-meta solution expel its gases up to the corks for about 10 minutes as the gases of that solution do most of the sanitizing. After that 10 minutes they will be ready to use.

 

[scubaman2151]

Thanks bud. Always can count on you.

 

[BonnieJoy]

Wade - what's a corkidor? I have 250 premium corks that will be used over the next 6 - 12 months that are coated to make them easier to press into the bottles. The manufacturer does not recommend any soaking in SO2 prior to use. How do I safely store & preserve them after opening the bag?

 

[ibglowin]

Usually a one or two gallon bucket with a container (jar) of sulfite solution inside. You place your corks around the jar of sulfite solution and then put the lid on. They stay sanitized and the sulfite solution keeps them from drying out as well.

 

[Runningwolf]

Usually a one or two gallon bucket with a container (jar) of sulfite solution inside. You place your corks around the jar of sulfite solution and then put the lid on. They stay sanitized and the sulfite solution keeps them from drying out as well.

I also keep my hoses in the bucket to keep them sanitized.

 

[BonnieJoy]

Thanks - that's the perfect solution!

 

[Wade E]

Yep. I use a 5 gallon bucket and a 1 gallon jug of solution which is also the jug I pull out to sanitize all my other utensils that my spray bottle just isnt enough for.

 

[Goodfella]

What about the coating on agglomerate corks? Does this affect them?

 

[Wade E]

I havent seen any problems with it and Ive been using Georges corks for many years along with the corkidor.