Dumb question!!!!!!!!

[MedPretzel]

Hello everyone!

I have a pretty dumb question, but it's the result of some bad mishaps, and maybe I'm just missing the point of something crucial.


My problem: Every now and then, a cork of my wines pops. Now, this isn't right after I bottle. This is my procedure: I filter. I wait 4 weeks (okay, okay... I wait3 weeks.... okay, okay.... I wait 2.5 weeks, but sometimes 4...

). I bottle. I let the bottles stand upright for about 2 weeks. I put the plastic thingamabobbies on and put them in my wine-rack.


Once, about 4 months after I did the procedure I mentioned above, one cork popped right out of the bottle, and ended up about 20 feet away. Wine everywhere. I bottled about 2 gallons of this wine, and only one bottle did this.


Then, another wine did the same after about 3 weeks of being in the bottle (1 week on it's side). I bottled about 3-gallons of this wine, and only one bottle did this.


So, my question is: Why?!? Why only one bottle of about 10 or 15? Could it be the degassing? When I degas, I don't get the tons of foam that people are talking about. I use the "wine-whip" to degas. In conjunction, Ialso use the vacu-vin to degas my bigger batches (5 and 6 gallons)...





Any help is appreciated!

Martina

 

[masta]

Martina,
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Sounds like more of a renewed fermentation in some bottles causing the corks to pop from carbon dioxide buildup. So the questions are:
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Areyou fermenting your wine dry or is there some residual sugar left?
If it isnot completely dry (specific gravity of 0.990 or lower) you need to use the correct amount of potassium sorbate to prevent renewed fermentation in the bottle.
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What type of corks are you using?
Synthetic corks have been rumored to pop out but Ihave onlyseen leakage and stop using them for this reason.
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Check out this link for the expert opinion on this subject: <O></O>
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http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/bottling.asp
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Hope this helps!<O></O>


Edited by: masta

 

[MedPretzel]

#1. I am always down to SG of 0.990. I keep them dry and bottle them dry. (I like dry wine) I still use K-Sorbate to stabilize.


#2. This happened with a #9 cork and a #8 cork. Agglomerated.


The temp is fairly constant, with a yearly temperature change of about 10 degrees, but very, very gradual.


The thing is, it just happens once in a blue moon to only one bottle....


Thanks for replying!





martina

 

[Maui Joe]

Martina, Sorry for the late response to your question. I have asked a veteran winemaker here on Maui your question. "Why one or two bottles out of 15-30 would do that. This is his response. He said," If the problem was due to under stablizing, then more bottles would loose their corks." The problem generally points to either the prepartion of bottling or the minute traces of something on the corks themselves. Making reference to the sterilizing of the corks as well as placing them into the "corking machine" for compressing." He points out the fact that some of us "do not " sterilize the corks and uses them dry from the package. It is then "unknown" as to what may be present on a cork during the handling from "factory to client."


This could be simply moisture, CORK DUST, etc.combined with hand oils that do not evaporate but linger on the cork surface. This is why he prepares ALL of his corks whether coated or not by using "meta" in gas form in a container for 24 hours. Then removing them and thoroughly wiping them dry just prior to bottling. That some winemakers do use this method but also fail to "wipe-dry" to ensure that the corks are clean and "DRY."


Another problem overlooked is the lube that is used in the corker. Alot of times when the corker is "re-serviced" with food grade grease, too much is applied and thusly is shifted about the irises in the machine, which can also enter the compression area just enough to coat a cork edge which is quite rare.Also, being very careful in placing the corks as we bottle during all that excitement of finally bottling "Our next great-one."Maybe that 1 out of 30 may happen.





I have used his cork preparation method and paid close attention to his suggestion without a problem THUS FAR! I hope this helps...it did me.

 

[bdavidh]

Absolutely wasn't a dumb question, cause I learned a lot from it.



I haven't had a cork pop yet, hopefully with this piece of info, I never will.