# Corking



## Schuster1 (Sep 14, 2012)

When corking white wine should the cork wet or dry? Thanks


----------



## robie (Sep 14, 2012)

For both whites and reds, the cork should be dry if possible.

Place the corks in a bucket. In the center of the bucket, place an open jar of about 2 cups of Kmeta solution (3 tblsp to one gallon of water). Seal up the bucket for a couple hours. When you open the bucket, you will have sanitized, dry corks.

You will hear this bucket referred to as - a corkador.

Never boil the corks.

As far as wet, the second best option for a home wine maker is to put the corks in a colander, pour Kmeta solution over them. Shake them well; cover them and let them dry or nearly dry.


----------



## Schuster1 (Sep 14, 2012)

Does the cork expand when you add the solution? Thanks for your help


----------



## jswordy (Sep 18, 2012)

The solution is not in contact with the corks for long, just enough to wet them.

I gave up on involved cork sanitizing. I just make a strong k meta solution in a spray bottle and spritz the cork before placing it in my floor corker and pushing it home. I have not had a problem. Your mileage may vary.

BTW, some suppliers are so confident of their packaging that they say you never need to do anything to their corks when you are opening a sealed bag for use. I have not had a problem by following that instruction, but perhaps I trust too much. Since I went to the spray bottle, I spritz every cork now just because it's there on the bottling line. 

After I store a partial bag (I always put the folded-over bag into a ziplock bag), I will spritz them with k meta before use.


----------



## TonyP (Sep 18, 2012)

Schuster1 said:


> Does the cork expand when you add the solution? Thanks for your help



Shuster, to be clear the corkidor technique Robie described does not bring the cork into contact with K-meta. Instead, the corks are loose in a bucket together with a jar / bowl of K-meta. As the K-meta evaporates the SO2 given off permeates the cork. I now follow this up with placing the corks in Star San for 3-4 minutes to make them easier going into bottle.

Tony P.


----------



## Schuster1 (Sep 18, 2012)

Tony P I did it your way and it all worked out fine. Thanks


----------



## derunner (Oct 7, 2012)

robie said:


> For both whites and reds, the cork should be dry if possible.
> 
> Place the corks in a bucket. In the center of the bucket, place an open jar of about 2 cups of Kmeta solution (3 tblsp to one gallon of water). Seal up the bucket for a couple hours. When you open the bucket, you will have sanitized, dry corks.
> 
> ...



Should these be food grade buckets? I'm have trouble finding them. What size do you use for a corkador if you plan to keep 100 corks in there with some tubing? Do they just have a snap top lid like the fermentor, or do you look for something else? Is a pint sized canning jar with about a cup of the k-meta (3TBLS/gal) good?

If you do this for your tubing hydrometer, wine thief, and testing cylinder, do you just pull them out and use? then clean and spray with k-meta before putting them back in the bucktet? Or do you clean these gain before use.


----------



## SBWs (Oct 8, 2012)

Watch what you put in there. I put some pyrex type measuring containers in one and all the red markings came off. Also lost a mesh screener the same way it rusted.


----------



## kevinlfifer (Oct 9, 2012)

I am basically lazy. I take my 30 corks put them in a gallon ziplock bag with 1/2 cup or so of k-meta, shake and drain. Then a quick rinse with water, drain and use them immediatley.

500 bottles later no problem


----------

