Wax on/Wax off?

[CNMDesign]

Under what circumstances do you wax your wine corks?

Does anyone wax seal their wine bottles?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9uZqDqSoMw[/ame]

 

[jamesngalveston]

well I do not know, I have never waxed mine. Maybe some one will come forward with your answer.

 

[GreginND]

Are you talking about sealing the top of the bottle with wax? Several folks here do that.

 

[JohnT]

I do not wax my corks either.

 

[cpfan]

Under what circumstances do you wax your wine corks?

None. Never done it.

 

[CowboyRam]

Can you pull the wax out like a cork? I would think it would make it harder to get the bottle open.

 

[Rocky]

CNMDesign, I assume you are talking about dipping a corked bottle in wax in much the same way as Marker's Mark Bourbon is finished. I have never done that but I suppose it would enhance the "air tightness" of the cork and better protect the wine. Many years ago, in the pre-metabisulfite era, we used to "bottle" our wine in 1 gallon jugs, insert a cork to a depth just under the lip of the jug, melt candle wax on top of the cork and wrap it with either masking or electrical tape. Talk about belt and suspenders! Still we had wine "go bad" after an extended period and we had difficulty in keeping wax out of our wine.

 

[jswordy]

Yep, it's old skool. Most here are using shrink capsules if they want that decorative look.

 

[CowboyRam]

I have a bottle of wine that someone gave me years ago, but I have never drank it because they sealed the bottle with wax, no cork. I didn't think it would pull out like a cork.

 

[jamesngalveston]

shrink wraps are cheap,easy to use and make a nice finish.....

 

[GreginND]

I have a bottle of wine that someone gave me years ago, but I have never drank it because they sealed the bottle with wax, no cork. I didn't think it would pull out like a cork.

Are you saying they plugged the top of the bottle with wax? Not just covered the cork? That would be bad. The wax will not form an airtight seal with the glass.

 

[jswordy]

All I got to add to this thread now is that if somebody wax off, what do I care?

Or am I missing some obtuse context here?

 

[richmke]

I have read that using an Italian or Portuguese floor corker can be a problem with synthetic corks, like Nomacorc. The corker can score the edge of the cork as it goes into the bottle, and thus the cork may have a tendency to leak.

I heard that countersinking the cork, and topping with wax may solve the problem. I do not know if that is any better than a cheap natural cork for long-term storage, although it would not have the cork taint problem of natural cork.

 

[jamesngalveston]

dang wordy.....here I thought you cared about everything, man I was wrong..

 

[Runningwolf]

After watching the video he is NOT replacing the cork with wax. Bottles are always corked first then wax applied. I am not a lover of the look. However I do (as said above) counter sink my corks a bit and spoon a bit of wax on it to fill the void. I have come to like the look a lot. I have ten different colors of wax and can blend colors. Every variety gets a different color for fast inventory of what I have. As soon as you hit the wax with a cork screw it pops right off and you can reuse it if you wish. It way faster and easier then capsules. No more cutting off the remainder of the capsule either when I wash bottles. It is very cost effective. You can purchase all the colored wax at Presque Isle Wine Cellars.

 

[Deezil]

Maybe I'm wrong here, but the way I understand it..

Corks breathe, and as they breathe, bottled wines will continue to micro-oxidize over time (years). Wax will stop this process, almost seeming to hold the bottle at the 'age' that it is when waxed, allowing no more micro-oxygenation. Provided this doesn't mean that the chemicals within the wine will stop their reactions, just that the outside elements are locked out..

Wrong?

 

[Runningwolf]

Manley many wines do not need to age any longer in the bottles as you talk about. Noma corks will not allow it either. Wines do need several weeks in the bottle to get over bottle shock. Bottles were waxed way before capsules ever came out (and that validates nothing).LOL Is it going to make any difference in our wine making? I don't think so. I have no scientific proof for pro or con but if you disagree with me I will hunt you...never mind. LOL

 

[Deezil]

Just to elaborate here..

Say you make a batch.. Bottle it.. It's okay..

Time goes on, bottles get better and better.. Until you open a few bottles in a row, and they're all very similar / peak of what the wine may/could be. So you wax the bottles, hoping to essentially capture that particular level of micro-oxygenation.

Will a remaining bottle treated that way, still brown-out from oxidation if left untouched?

 

[ibglowin]

Hold on. The latest "theory" is that corks don't breath at all. The only O2 that gets into a wine after corking is trapped O2 that diffuses out of the cork itself.

 

[Deezil]

Hold on. The latest "theory" is that corks don't breath at all. The only O2 that gets into a wine after corking is trapped O2 that diffuses out of the cork itself.

Is this true through Grade 1-3, 1+1, and agglomerated corks?

I could see a Grade 1 cork not breathing very much, but that's half the reason they're so expensive - they're nearly entirely wood. An agglomerated cork though, is about 33-50% binders I'd bet (haven't looked this up... yet) - definitely more potential to breathe, in my mind.

I guess I dont know enough about cork..