Mama wants a floor corker. Which one?

[LoneStarLori]

I'm going to ask Santa for a floor corker? What are your suggestions?


Sent from my iPad

 

[roger80465]

Very happy with the Portuguese corker. Hard to beat the value

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I agree ^^

It is all depending on your budget also - Brass jaws are nice - but you have to do alot of bottling to make up the difference. I just changed my Portuguese Jaws after years of use

 

[tonyt]

The blue Italian model will do 375 ml splits and 1500 ml magnums. I have actually had both Portuguese and Italian. You get what you pay for.

 

[GreginND]

Used a portuguese corker for years and it worked well. Just bought an Italian blue one and so happy I did.

 

[WI_Wino]

Another happy camper with the blue Italian corker. Had it for 7 years now I think and never had an issue.

 

[garymc]

The Portugese floor corker has feet that can be screwed into a piece of plywood or paneling to make it more stable if you happen to get off balance as you make the downstroke with the handle. In the Youtube the guy demonstrates a noticeable difference in the stroke. He recommends the Italian. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NhoyRp3wIr0[/ame]

 

[Runningwolf]

You'll be thrilled with either one. Everyone that posted before me are spot on.

 

[dralarms]

Hmmm, I'm doing it wrong, apparently. I have mine on the table. I have the red one that you can bolt down but I just pick it up and set it out of the way.

 

[Runningwolf]

What Tim says in the video is true about a smoother stroke in the Blue Italian corker. But note he is corking from the side to give us a full view of the corker, rather than from the front where you would normally be. The negative; The arm is very long and so is the full stroke (for ease of pushing in the cork). This means when sitting down you have to reach back rather far to grab the handle each time (this also allows for a larger cork). I solved this issue by setting a piece of wood about 1" wide behind the arm so it can not retract quite so far. A simple, easy fix and less stretching.

 

[bkisel]

I got the blue Italian one as a Christmas gift last year. Very pleased with it but have no comparison to make with the other popular floor corker.

 

[richmke]

What's Santa's budget? What type of Cork do you use?

If you are taller, the additional height of the Italian is worth it. Note: there is a Red and Burgundy version of the Portugese. The Burgundy is 3" taller, and made of rounded vs extruded steel.

Some of the corkers (and it is corker specific, and not model specific) have problems with scoring synthetic corks. If you use synthetic corks, one solution might be to seal the top with wax.

If you are bottling beer, then it might make a difference to you that the Italian has a Capper attachment.

If you notice, on both the Italian and Portuguese, the plunger (pointy thing) is mounted to the arm and swings on an arc. That means, the plunger puts a slightly diagonal pressure on the cork.

If Santa is generous, you might want to consider the Swiss Rapid Corker. For a mere 7 times the cost of the Italian, you get better machine. It has a separately mounted plunger, so it goes straight down onto the cork. It is also built like a tank. I found one at a much discounted price on Craigslist. Note: It does not disassemble like the Italian or Portugese, so shipping is a bear.

IMHO:

Consider the Burgundy Portugese first. It is on sale until 10/31 for $65, about the regular price of the Red:
http://www.winemakersdepot.com/Corkers-C191.aspx

If you are making beer, then Italian is the way to go. Note: The Italian can be found used for a little more than the Portuguese ($75 if you are willing to wait and look around).

If you have a generous benefactor, or come across one used, then Swiss is the one to put on your list.

 

[LoneStarLori]

IMHO:

Consider the Burgundy Portugese first. It is on sale until 10/31 for $65, about the regular price of the Red:
http://www.winemakersdepot.com/Corkers-C191.aspx

If you have a generous benefactor, or come across one used, then Swiss is the one to put on your list.

After looking at this, it appears to be similar to the Italian blue corker. For $65. ?

Can someone double check me on this? If that is as close to the Italian as I think it is, Christmas may come a little early this year.

Also, do both the Italian and Portugese do 375ml's?

 

[Runningwolf]

Yes they both will. I have both and I do both tall and short 375 bottles in them.

 

[ibglowin]

I have the Portuguese Corker and it has served me well (~2000 bottles). No problems with the nylon (plastic) iris or scratching etc. I have only found one bottle that was too tall to fit into it and that was some new brand of Bellissima (tall) Port bottles I got from FVW's. For ~50% the cost of the Italian it is hard to beat.

 

[bkisel]

...

Some of the corkers (and it is corker specific, and not model specific) have problems with scoring synthetic corks. If you use synthetic corks, one solution might be to seal the top with wax.

...

Nomacorc CS rep recommended I use their Nomacorc Select 900 corks with my Italian floor corker. This was in response to my asking about scoring synthetic corks when using iris style floor corkers.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Regarding the burgundy above, It looks to me like a copy of the blue Italian one. Does anyone see why this would not be a good deal? Looks like the best of both worlds.

http://www.winemakersdepot.com/Corkers-C191.aspx


I appreciate all your input guys, I have a really hard time making decisions.

 

[GreginND]

It looks like a good deal. It still has a nylon iris that is the same as the other Portuguese corker, but it should have the leverage advantage of the Italian corker. I don't think you can go wrong. The price is right!

 

[Runningwolf]

Several members have purchased this unit and all had positive reviews. I was concerned about shipping though and checked it out. You can get it shipped for less than $20. That's pretty good! I would recommend anyone else looking for one to jump on this deal.

 

[LoneStarLori]

I'm going to go for it. I was concerned about the shipping too, but at $13. not bad. Staring at 25 gallons of wine that need to be bottled, I'm going to go ahead and order it. Yesterday I spent 3 hours de-labeling and cleaning 8 cases of bottles I got for free from a local winery. My efforts more than pay for it so I'm gonna just say I worked for it.

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'll let you know what I think when I get it. HAS to be better than my double lever.