Semi-synthetic corks?

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kuziwk

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Hi guys i ended up with sediment on the bottom of my bottles and haze in the bottled wine due to disturbing the flour likr sediment in thr carboy...call it poor siphoning technique and maybe could have used thay extra rack to clear for a week before bottling. I followed the instructions and it obviously messed me up. At any rate i corked with semi synthetic corks, can i store these upright or do they need to be stored on their sides? Stored upright would help the settement to collect on thr bottle allowing me to easier decant the wine.
 
Hi guys i ended up with sediment on the bottom of my bottles and haze in the bottled wine due to disturbing the flour likr sediment in thr carboy...call it poor siphoning technique and maybe could have used thay extra rack to clear for a week before bottling. I followed the instructions and it obviously messed me up. At any rate i corked with semi synthetic corks, can i store these upright or do they need to be stored on their sides? Stored upright would help the settement to collect on thr bottle allowing me to easier decant the wine.

You’re correct, the extra racking / settling will help you avoid the problem in the future. As for your question about your current bottles, synthetic corked wines don’t need to be “stored wet” like natural, so you should be just fine storing upright to facilitate your decanting.
 
By "semi-synthetic", do you mean pressed/molded or extruded (agglomerated) wine corks made from otherwise natural cork pieces?

I use pressed corks from time to time. Yet, honestly, I do not know if one can store a bottle standing up with them or not.

But my thinking would go like this (really just a WHAG): since the pressed cork type gives a very good seal, is not naturally porous (means less if any "micro-oxygen" aging of the wine), I would assume (?) it is unlikely to "dry out" to the point of causing any real problems for a year at least (but I may be wrong).

The extruded corks I would not store with the bottle standing up. Being of a lesser quality I assume they may dry out (but that is again just my WHAG).


Of course, another option is just re-bottle the wine. Either put it back into a larger container to let it settle again, or run the wine from bottle to bottle through a micro-filter.
 
By "semi-synthetic", do you mean pressed/molded or extruded (agglomerated) wine corks made from otherwise natural cork pieces?

I use pressed corks from time to time. Yet, honestly, I do not know if one can store a bottle standing up with them or not.

But my thinking would go like this (really just a WHAG): since the pressed cork type gives a very good seal, is not naturally porous (means less if any "micro-oxygen" aging of the wine), I would assume (?) it is unlikely to "dry out" to the point of causing any real problems for a year at least (but I may be wrong).

The extruded corks I would not store with the bottle standing up. Being of a lesser quality I assume they may dry out (but that is again just my WHAG).


Of course, another option is just re-bottle the wine. Either put it back into a larger container to let it settle again, or run the wine from bottle to bottle through a micro-filter.

HI! What does the "H" stand for in "WHAG"? Going back decades I've only know "WAG".
 
Sorry excuse my errora as im on my phone here...the wine corks i bought are semi-synthetic...not just synthetic hence the confusion. Im not sure what the semi means but i would assume its the best of both types of corks blended into one.
 
Sorry excuse my errora as im on my phone here...the wine corks i bought are semi-synthetic...not just synthetic hence the confusion. Im not sure what the semi means but i would assume its the best of both types of corks blended into one.

I don't think we have enough information to answer your question, that is, we don't know exactly what properties "semisynthetic corks" have. Can you perhaps post a link to the actual corks you bought?
 
I googled them and all were made in China. Didn't see what they made of .

Bill
they look identical to these:

http://grapestoglass.com/shop/equipment-supplies/corks-semi-synthetic/

"A good semi-synthetic cork, short length. Our “Better and Most Popular” grade. Easy to insert and take out. No off-flavours, breakage, or disintegration. Excellent for long or short-term storage. A beautiful hybrid cork that combines quality and value. Used by many vineyards throughout California, Oregon, Washington State, and the Okanagan Valley"

Maybe they are fine as they say no disintegration, corks drying out would be considered disintegrating i would think. Funny as alot of wine stores in my area tend to store the bottles upright with no ill effect. Im also trying to drink up the wine first and foremost so i dont run into any issues with the corks.
 
I have been using Natural corks since they seem to be the best value out there, but i have plenty of space to store my wines on their side. I would love to switch to synthetic but at 20 cents of more each its out of my price range i have been averaging 13 cent per cork, i only use about 1500 corks per year.
 
I have been using Natural corks since they seem to be the best value out there, but i have plenty of space to store my wines on their side. I would love to switch to synthetic but at 20 cents of more each its out of my price range i have been averaging 13 cent per cork, i only use about 1500 corks per year.

Is that $0.20 per cork, or $0.20 MORE per cork?

1500 corks per year? That is 300 gallons. Are you a commercial concern? (Household limit in the US is 200 gallons.) I would think that $0.20/bottle wouldn't be a huge deal to a commercial winery....
 
Not a commercial Winery just for personal use I have eight siblings my wife has 11 siblings we averaged around 65 people for holidays. $0.20 per synthetic cork when bought in bulk
 

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