Floor Corkers issue.

[UBB]

Between my dad and I this corker has been around for a long time. Over the years the upkeep on the corker has been lacking and it has now rusted. I was filling and the wife was corking last night and she brought to my attention (after 2 1/2 cases) that the
corker was leaving rust marks on the sides of the cork. FWIW I was using synthetic corks.
So the question I have is how many of you fine folks think I need to pull the corks (after fixing the corker or getting a new one) and re-cork the bottles as I am of that opinion.

I see that FineVines has replacement brass jaws for this corker and I suppose I will need to sand down the bottom plate and repaint to prevent further issues.

Here is a pic of what I am talking about.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

I don't think it will hurt the wine it just looks bad. If it was me I'd hide it with some capsules and not worry about it. But that's just me.

 

[Bartman]

I wouldn't. As long as the corks were not being damaged by the corker as they went in (cutting/breaking the side of the corks), I would have no reasonable concerns other than aesthetics. The side of the cork is not in contact with the wine, so even if the rust was a potential contaminant for your wine (which I doubt), your wine would not be coming in contact with it and it would be trapped on the side of the bottleneck. Is there rust on the bottom of the corks? Only way to test would be to cork an empty bottle and pull it back out without putting the corkscrew through the bottom. Did you sanitize the parts of the corker that touch the corks before using it? Assuming you did, I see no reason to sweat this, unless you feel strongly about the look of the rust on the side of the cork or want to play it extra-safe. The downside of re-corking is that you expose the wine to some additional oxidation time while opening and recorking.

 

[winemaker_3352]

If you sanitize your corks with k-meta - that is very corrosive to metal.

I do this as well - but I take a wet cloth and wipe it down afterwards to avoid this issue.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Is there a crease - if so push down the cork an additional 1/4'' and put some bottle wax on top to seal it off.

 

[JoshDivino]

what a shame, sounds like vacuumpumpman has a good idea along with Derek, I would press it in another 1/4 inch wax and seal it, then capsule it so the world will never know! Good luck!

 

[UBB]

If you sanitize your corks with k-meta - that is very corrosive to metal.

I do this as well - but I take a wet cloth and wipe it down afterwards to avoid this issue.

I usually do and I'm certain the corker hasn't been wiped down after a bottling session or two hence the issue.

 

[Runningwolf]

I use alcohol to sanitize my corker and filler head to avoid this issue.

 

[BobF]

You didn't say what the wine is, how much munny, and how much effort you have invested in this wine.

I would consider those factors along with how disappointed I would be if my wine tasted like rust/iron when I opened it.

Yeah, I would prolly recork ... but, in the interest of full disclosure, I am incredibly anal and compulsive.

The cost of 30 corks wouldn't be worth the risk to me

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I personall would not recork due to the rust is in the middle to upper part of the cork due to the cork being pushed in the bottle. So in theory it should never touch the wine. If you remove the cork - you will have to transfer the wine somehow because you will have rust marks(containements) along the side of the bottle - so if you install another cork you will only be pushing it down into the wine.
Just my thoughts

 

[BobF]

If there is residue inside the neck, you'll rinse it into your glass when you pour.

 

[winemaker_3352]

If there is residue inside the neck, you'll rinse it into your glass when you pour.

That is kind of what i was thinking.

I would pull the cork - clean the neck - recork...

 

[UBB]

That is kind of what i was thinking.

I would pull the cork - clean the neck - recork...

This is what I was thinking. Since the wife has skinny fingers I would pull the cork, and have her take a clean cloth dipped in k-meta solution and wipe the neck of the bottle and then re-cork.

Thoughts on this course of action??

Also: I'm thinking I should repaint the bottom plate that the cork sits on. Would I need a special kind of paint??