Hey What's The Corking Problem?

[btom2004]

I just ordered some corks. The description of them stated as follows:
Product Description
These high-quality, champfered (beveled), all-natural corks will work for all 750ml bottles that we carry. This size cork will allow you to age your wine in the bottle for up to 2 years. The #8 corks have a slightly smaller diameter then the #9 corks, so these are a great option when using a plastic plunger type corker. Bag of 30 corks.

Question: Is there really a shelf life for corks?
If so would I have to recork stored wines after a few years?
What do you do ignor that, or recork?

 

[tonyandkory]

I have never had a bottle of wine last that long so I use them but as I understand the cheaper corks after 2-3 years will start to leak or rot
if you plan on aging for awhile I would get longer lasting corks and use those for fast drinking wine.

I have only been brewing for a year and a half... I have one of the first bottles we made still and the corks seems fine but the bottle is full of sediment which is not the corks fault but its a memento I guess.

 

[jswordy]

The #8 corks are smaller in diameter. There is normal breathing going on between your wine and the atmosphere with a natural-corked bottle. The wine breathes through the cork material somewaht, and also around the pressed seal with the bottle.

I use the larger #9 corks, which allow for longer storage times because they fit tighter.

Synthetic corks breathe less through the cork material but they do breathe along the seal with the bottle.

 

[robie]

Different cork-types do have differing usable life spans. Some agglomerated corks don't last as long as most full, non-agglomerated, natural corks. Some of the artificial corks can last a very long time.

Most any cork will work for two years. If you intend to keep your wine in the bottle for more than two years, you really do need to find out how long your choice of cork will last.

 

[Boatboy24]

I use the larger #9 corks, which allow for longer storage times because they fit tighter.

Jim,

Do you use a floor corker with these or can you get by with a hand corker?

Thanks.

Jim

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

Rule of thumb for corks. 0 to 6 mo. a tasting cork will work
6 mo to 2 years #8
2 years + 9's or artificial corks
extreme long term 3-5+ wax them
Will a 9 work for short term, yes. Just a larger cork and a bit harder to put in.
The French would re cork wines about every 8 to 10 years for the long term storage of wines.

 

[btom2004]

Thanks everyone for your insightful replies:

Rule of thumb for corks. 0 to 6 mo. a tasting cork will work
6 mo to 2 years #8
2 years + 9's or artificial corks
extreme long term 3-5+ wax them
Will a 9 work for short term, yes. Just a larger cork and a bit harder to put in.
The French would re cork wines about every 8 to 10 years for the long term storage of wines.

Well I guess I'll have to keep that in mind, that if wine is still around after two years. I will be looking at them, incase I have to recork.

 

[MalvinaScordaad]

The small volume producer has a particularly tough problem when it comes to using natural corks. First the better quality the cork the longer it will last. Pricing for a economy grade natural cork can be 20 cents per cork per thousand while a Flor Cork the highest level of quality can cost 60 cents and higher. Corks come in 1000 unit bags. The corks are sealed in the bags with SO2 gas and dated. They are sealed with the proper amount of humidity content as well. They are good for 6 months sealed. If not used they can be returned to the manufacturer where for a nominal charge they will re establish the humidity content and re gas them in a new sealed bag. Sometimes you can purchase bags of 500. M&M Grape Company was able to provide me with that 500 count even though I purchased more than one bag I could at least return an unopened one if necessary for reprocessing. The best thing to do is to share a bag of fresh corks with others and using them. Buying corks that have been laying around in some LHBS opened on a shelf is a major problem to the integrity and life of the cork when bottled. Some fellows make a cork-a-dor. They take a 5 gallon bucket make a platform in it off the bottom drill holes in the platform fill below the platform with a strong K meta solution and store the unused corks in bags on top of the platform with a sealed bucket cover in place. This is a good idea. as it will keep the humidity and a SO2 gas environment for the corks. But it is a waste of time if you start off with stale corks to begin with. This is probably more than you wanted to know. Oh Well and one other thing forget about # 8 corks buy a decent corker and use the industry standard #9s You want nothing to pass between the glass neck and the cork.
Malvina

 

[Runningwolf]

Malvina that was great information on the corks and cork-a-dore. I buy 1000 corks at a time and use the cork-a-dore. I use two 5 gallon pails with a strong solution of meta in a 1/2 gallon jug and then spread the corks around that. I highly recommend folks buy a floor corker and use #9 corks and do not soak them before bottling.

 

[thesnow]

Running wolf, how long do you soak your corks for. And how long do you let them dry? Do you let them dry out in the open? Once dry I'm assuming you put them in a zip lock bag.

 

[Runningwolf]

I highly recommend folks buy a floor corker and use #9 corks and do not soak them before bottling.

Running wolf, how long do you soak your corks for. And how long do you let them dry? Do you let them dry out in the open? Once dry I'm assuming you put them in a zip lock bag.

As my above post says "I do not soak corks". I know some folks do, that use hand corkers as it makes them go in easier but with a floor corker there is no need to do so. I believe soaking the corks for any amount of time leads to the deterioration of them. When people tell me their corks are coming apart in the bottles, the first thing I ask them is, do they soak them. 100% of the time they say "yes". If you feel the need to do it for sanitary reasons then just put your corks in a colander and pour the meta solution over them and let them drain. This is my personal opinion and other members may feel differently.

 

[grapeman]

I fully agree with runningwolf and do not ever soak corks. Use a high quality corker and they go right in. Keep them sterile and there is no reason to sterilize. The corkidor works great for relatively small batches of several hundred at a time.

 

[MalvinaScordaad]

Years ago I witnessed a problem with cases of white wine that was being sold for 10 dollars a case because the corks at the time had dust on them and they did not bathe them before using them so the dust was floating in the wine, very unattractive. So from then on with whites I would bathe them in k meta solution to avoid this problem. Not long ago I was talking to a cork manufacturer representative and he showed me a bottle that was corked for 5 years with an agglomerated cork and there was not a floater in the bottle. What I learned is the 'dust " problem I witnessed was due to very poor qualitycorks and there would be no reason to bathe them at all by today's standards. So from that time I have not done it and my whites have no floaters. I never did it to the reds because you wouldn't be able to see the floaters in the first place if they were there. But soaking corks does not add to the life of the cork and should be avoided.
Malvina

 

[thesnow]

I'm getting confused here? Is soaking them or sterilizing corks the same?
I've been sterilizing my corks before bottling. I would basically use 1 liter of water to 1 Tsp of Potassium Sulfite. I would dump my 30 corks steer for a minute in the solution then remove the corks & pat them dry with a clean cloth. Is this ok?

 

[MalvinaScordaad]

I'm getting confused here? Is soaking them or sterilizing corks the same?
I've been sterilizing my corks before bottling. I would basically use 1 liter of water to 1 Tsp of Potassium Sulfite. I would dump my 30 corks steer for a minute in the solution then remove the corks & pat them dry with a clean cloth. Is this ok?

Not necessary and not recommended if you are using fresh corks which came from a sealed bag or stored in a Cork-A -Dor
Malvina

 

[thesnow]

OK, the store I buy corks from, buys them in volume then packages them. Its not seal by manufacture. What then? If all stores here do the same. Where can I buy online for Canada.
Thanks

 

[robie]

OK, the store I buy corks from, buys them in volume then packages them. Its not seal by manufacture. What then? If all stores here do the same. Where can I buy online for Canada.
Thanks

Use a corkador, which was previously discussed on this same thread. That should be sufficient. The fumes from the Kmeta will kill anything on the corks, but won't wash off or distort any coating, or otherwise harm the corks.

 

[thesnow]

OK thanks , much appreciate