# First waxing attempt



## spaniel (May 23, 2013)

I made 5+ gallons of black raspberry port; it turned out well. I bottled most of it with tasting corks, then tried applying wax for the first time:







No labels designed yet. Wax ended up being fairly easy, except for the patient wait for the wax to melt properly. It was commercially available wax, put in a tin can and melted in a boiling water bath on the stove. Simple dip-and-twirl technique.

I saved a few bottles' worth to receive regular corks and wax for long-term (5+ year) aging.


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## Runningwolf (May 23, 2013)

I would forget the boiling water/tin can technique. I also wax and tried that and it takes forever. I buy very small sauce pans (Teflon coated) from Walmart for about $5.00 each. I have one for each color so no wax is ever wasted as I leave the remaining wax in it for next time. I apply it directly on the burner at low heat and it is so much faster.


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## spaniel (May 23, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> I would forget the boiling water/tin can technique. I also wax and tried that and it takes forever. I buy very small sauce pans (Teflon coated) from Walmart for about $5.00 each. I have one for each color so no wax is ever wasted as I leave the remaining wax in it for next time. I apply it directly on the burner at low heat and it is so much faster.




Is it hard to get the wax deep enough in a saucepan? In the can it doesn't take much wax to get it deep enough. I didn't really mind, I just did other stuff while it got melted and stirred it occasionally with a chopstick. It's easy to store the can with the wax afterwards. I was concerned whether the wax would burn if it got too much direct heat and this was the recommended method.


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## Runningwolf (May 23, 2013)

Good point. I don't dip. I spoon a tad bit onto the bottles tops only. I sink my corks 1/4" and fill the void.


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## spaniel (May 23, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> Good point. I don't dip. I spoon a tad bit onto the bottles tops only. I sink my corks 1/4" and fill the void.



That would work with the bottles I cork for long-term aging. These were corked with "tasting corks", so sinking them in was clearly not an option.

I've gotten mixed opinions on what to do with the port. People here said I should use regular corks if I wanted to age. However my friend who is really into high-quality ports indicated that virtually all of the ports he has use "tasting corks", even though they are intended to age 10+ years. So I elected to use tasting corks for the majority of the bottles, and use regular corks on a smaller number that would definitively be aged longer term.


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## cocroach (May 23, 2013)

Very nice! These look way better than when I tried waxing my bottles for the first time.


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## tonyt (May 23, 2013)

Does the wax leave the bottle clean enough to reuse the bottle?


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## vacuumpumpman (May 24, 2013)

Runningwolf said:


> I would forget the boiling water/tin can technique. I also wax and tried that and it takes forever. I buy very small sauce pans (Teflon coated) from Walmart for about $5.00 each. I have one for each color so no wax is ever wasted as I leave the remaining wax in it for next time. I apply it directly on the burner at low heat and it is so much faster.



Dan 
I have always used the tin can method - but I put the can directly over the flame to heat it up,this can must be going on its 6th year !! 

Note : make sure you have some vise grips or pliers in order to hold the can while you are heating it.


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## spaniel (May 24, 2013)

tonyt said:


> Does the wax leave the bottle clean enough to reuse the bottle?



After I did ~45 bottles, this though occurred to me. 

I'm sure one could melt it off and even reuse it with a small propane torch. It will take me a long time to empty these bottles....and it took 3 years to save this many berries...so I'm not too concerned. My red vines are not yet putting out enough grapes that I make so much that I have extra to make port with.


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## vacuumpumpman (May 24, 2013)

spaniel said:


> After I did ~45 bottles, this though occurred to me.
> 
> I'm sure one could melt it off and even reuse it with a small propane torch. It will take me a long time to empty these bottles....and it took 3 years to save this many berries...so I'm not too concerned. My red vines are not yet putting out enough grapes that I make so much that I have extra to make port with.



suggestion - don't use a propane torch on glass - use a heat gun as it will heat the glass slower and not crack or just use a razor blade


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## Runningwolf (May 24, 2013)

tonyt said:


> Does the wax leave the bottle clean enough to reuse the bottle?



If you just do the button on top like I do, it pops right off when you hit it with a cork screw. No residue at all and you can reuse the wax again if you wish.


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## spaniel (May 25, 2013)

vacuumpumpman said:


> suggestion - don't use a propane torch on glass - use a heat gun as it will heat the glass slower and not crack or just use a razor blade



Good thought. I use my wife's craft heat gun for capsules. I'm sure it would do fine.


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