Winery Grade Screw Caps for Home Use

[MiBor]

This is a rabbit hole I dive into maybe once a year, and after a few days of research I give up thinking that the time for this product to be used by home winemakers hasn't come yet. More and more 28mm screw-cap bottles are available and a lot of commercial wines come with those closures. This time I found the temper evident aluminum screw caps for sale in 1100 or so quantities (https://www.thecarycompany.com/containers/closures/beer-wine-caps-corks/wine-bottle-screw-caps) but what's missing is the installation tool. I'm not talking about a $10,000 automated machine, I'm talking about a hand crimping tool that will bend the metal to form the necessary groove to secure the cap in place, at the exact spot where it's supposed to be.

I also looked at the AWRI page about how screw caps are installed in Australia and there is some info about the process:
https://www.awri.com.au/industry_su...perations/applying-screw-cap-closures/#title5

I'm looking for something like the crown cap crimper or like a 20mm vial crimper that will form the groove in the temper evident aluminum screw cap at the right location, but I haven't found anything. Does anyone have an idea if such tool exists, or how this could be done at home using other tools?

 

[Rice_Guy]

. . . . Does anyone have an idea if such tool exists, or how this could be done at home

There is a test lab/ pilot plant “single head cap crimping tool”. It will take a smooth tubular formed blank sitting on a glass bottle and roll it to create the thread which goes into the retail trade.

For the industry I have worked in I never needed this but the cap supplier should have references on it (or them). The tool has been mentions in papers from the AWRI. My bet is that California has enough industry using screw caps that UC Davis also owns one.

For the majority of us home winemakers the tamper evident break away feature isn’t needed. We simply want a tight oxygen barrier cap. I will be interested if you find a source.

 

[sour_grapes]

Hard to believe that this is only $550: https://www.zonesunpack.com/product...automatic-metal-cap-crimper-aluminum-cap-lock

 

[MiBor]

Hard to believe that this is only $550:

Thanks @sour_grapes, I've never seen a machine that installs the screw caps before. It's not that expensive for what it does, but the shipping is a little steep...


I think the way this machine functions is that it bends the aluminum cap with the rolling wheels to every groove in the ROPP neck bottle starting at the top and going down. This includes the thread and the retaining feature. It may be a worthy buy if more wine vendors move to screw cap bottles and the price on cork finished ones starts to go up.

 

[sour_grapes]

Yack! That shipping! Ouch!

I could totally envision a tool that looks like a cross between a pliers and a can opener, with rolling wheels like the ones pictured above, and with a crank or handle (think can opener) to spin the bottle. But I don't have it in me to create that....

 

[Rice_Guy]

may be a worthy buy if more wine vendors move to screw cap bottles and the price on cork finished ones starts to go up.

I vote no,
I can buy machine applied jar caps at 10,000 per case. This design is a safety feature. For home use a parafilm or silicone stretch wrap would do the same thing.

Australia is primarily a metal cap market. The metal caps are a better oxygen barrier.