# Shrink Capsules......educate me.



## UBB (Dec 10, 2011)

I know what they are

Who uses them? How do you apply them?? Are they worth the investment???


Thanks.


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## rhoffart (Dec 10, 2011)

UBB said:


> I know what they are
> 
> Who uses them? How do you apply them?? Are they worth the investment???
> 
> ...



I do. Heat gun, boiling water or thermo thingy.

Yes ... your bottle would be naked without them.


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## UBB (Dec 10, 2011)

rhoffart said:


> I do. Heat gun, boiling water or thermo thingy.
> 
> Yes ... your bottle would be naked without them.



using listed equipment, would you mind walking me through how use go about it?


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## jet (Dec 10, 2011)

When I use them, I just set the bottle upright and put the capsule on top. I pinch the very bottom of the capsule and use a heat gun from directly above the bottle. As soon as the capsule starts to shrink, I let go with my off hand because it will get hot. If you don't hold it at the begining, the capsules tend to crawl up.


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## rhoffart (Dec 10, 2011)

Here is boiling water ... but DON'T use your finger to hold it. They make a tool or just bend you a coat hanger to hold it on as you dip it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47T4cbw0rMc[/ame]


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## rhoffart (Dec 10, 2011)

This is made just for the caps.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9qq2rbVh_s[/ame]


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## Runningwolf (Dec 10, 2011)

I like using capsules for the reason above plus it makes identiying my wine a lot easier when they are laying on their sides in the racks.


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## wvbrewer (Dec 10, 2011)

My wife uses a hair drier to do it. As long as you take your time they turn out pretty good..


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## Flem (Dec 10, 2011)

I use a heat gun. It looks like the pistol shaped hair dryer only it gets much hotter. I just start from the top of the bottle and rotate it until I reach the bottom of the shrink cap. I feel they just give it a "finished" look.


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## Rocky (Dec 10, 2011)

I use a heat gun or a hair dryer on the High setting. I also have a limited number of a stretchable plastic type that slip down over the top and stay in place real well. I don't remember where I got them but they can be slipped off the bottle with a little effort and reused.


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## BobF (Dec 10, 2011)

I use them with a heat gun to apply. I use small labels on the shrinks instead of large labels on the bottles. This makes cleaning/reusing a lot easier!


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## GrandpasFootsteps (Dec 10, 2011)

I use a heat gun. I bought it for $12 at Harbor Freight. It is super easy. After the bottle is corked, drop the capsule over it. Then I use a cork directly on top to hold it down (the gun can be a bit hot when bottling a lot of bottles). Starting at the top of the capsule with the heat gun, I rotate the bottle and always have perfect shrink.

I suppose if you picture this really you would realize you need 3 arms. For me, I usually have help. If I don't, I've done it without the upper cork but it is not 100% success rate on even shrink.

Also, afterward I put a note on the top of the capsule on the gold foil that indicates what wine it is. Like "Ch 11" for Chianti 2011 or "BB 11" for Blackberry 2011 or "Car" for Carrot. See, when they are all on their side in my wine rack, they get lost when I'm looking for a particular wine I want to enjoy.


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## Wade E (Dec 10, 2011)

I use the horizontal encapsular. Its pricy yes but pays for itself when you can do 30 bottles in under a minute .


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## Giovannino (Dec 11, 2011)

I use 'em mostly (as above) for IDing and for those which are to be opened in front of guests.

I was thinking last week that it would be cool to get shrinks for the whole bottle instead of just the top - I mean many many products are sold this way today.

I was also looking for pre-printed "year" labels but I guess there isn't a call for them.


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## dangerdave (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't use shrinks. I actually like the look of the cork in the bottle top. There's no accoiunting for taste, huh? lol


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## BobF (Dec 11, 2011)

There are wines with clear shrinks that offer the same protection but allow the beauty of the cork to show.


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## UBB (Dec 11, 2011)

I discovered today that the wife's hairdryer is not sufficient to apply the capsules well!


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## Runningwolf (Dec 11, 2011)

I have yet to see a hair dryer hot enough to work efficiently. A cheap heat gun will though.


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## dangerdave (Dec 12, 2011)

BobF said:


> There are wines with clear shrinks that offer the same protection but allow the beauty of the cork to show.



What would I be protecting with the shrinks? I was under the impression they are for cosmetic purposes only.


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## BobF (Dec 12, 2011)

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_bottle

Capsules
Most wine bottles finished with a cork, and some with screwcaps have a protective sleeve called a capsule (commonly referred to as a "foil") covering the top of the bottle. The purpose of which is to protect the cork from being gnawed away by rodents or infested with the cork weevil., and to serve as collar to catch small drips when pouring. The capsule also serves as a decorative element of the bottle's label. Capsules were historically made of lead; However, because of research showing that trace amounts of toxic lead could remain on the lip of the bottle and mix with the poured wine,[6] lead capsules (lead foil bottleneck wrappings) were slowly phased out, and by the 1990s,[7] most capsules were made of tin, heat-shrink plastic (polyethylene or PVC), or aluminium or polylaminate aluminium. Sealing wax is sometimes used, or the capsule can be omitted entirely.[8] In the US, the FDA officially banned lead foil capsules on domestic and imported wine bottles as of 1996.[9]


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## djrockinsteve (Dec 12, 2011)

I bought a heat gun for about $15.00 at one of the craft stores. Got this down to a science.

Place the shrink cap on with the pull tab near the back of the bottle. Turn on the heat gun and allow it to warm up about 30 seconds.

Angle the gun downward at a 45* angle and hold above the bottle but off to the side. Allow the heat to blow downward across the foil wrap and begin to spin the bottle with your other hand. I start near the top of the wrap and as it starts to shrink I spin a hair faster and work my way down the bottle. 

After it's 90% done I'll fine tune finishing it by a right angle direction and move the gun up n down briskly to finish off any small wrinkles.

Almost all come out perfect. Wade I did liik into a thermo encap. but I only wrap those I dress up for friends and clients. I told Runningwolf once all we need is the heating element and a switch on a block of wood but never went any further.

It does dres up the bottles though.


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## dangerdave (Dec 12, 2011)

> The purpose of which is to protect the cork from being gnawed away by rodents or infested with the cork weevil.



Ah, the dreaded vermin and the infamous cork weevil! My cat keeps out the vermin, and my cellar is weevil free, so I'll stick to my shrinkiless bottles , thank you.


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## BobF (Dec 12, 2011)

I think there are two other advatages other than dress-up. They might help hold a cork in long enough for you to notice a problem and they should slow down evaporation in low humidity conditions.


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## rhoffart (Dec 12, 2011)

BobF said:


> I think there are two other advatages other than dress-up. They might help hold a cork in long enough for you to notice a problem and they should slow down evaporation in low humidity conditions.



They just belong IMO. I don't recall any commercial wines without them. But hey ... to each his own, heck you don't even need a label.


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## BobF (Dec 12, 2011)

rhoffart said:


> They just belong IMO. I don't recall any commercial wines without them. But hey ... to each his own, heck you don't even need a label.


 
Some of mine have them, some have labels, some have nothing. Mood has a lot to do with it.

It's easy to add decorative stuff later if you decide to give some away.


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## Julie (Dec 12, 2011)

Currently I don't use them by when I bottle what I have in the carboys, I will but I'm not sure if I will do all our just some, like those that I give away. Up until this point I just could not see putting capsules on a bottle of wine that I was opening 6 months after I bottled it. I now have a supply large enough that my wines are a year old before I open a bottle.


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## BobF (Dec 12, 2011)

Julie said:


> ... I now have a supply large enough that my wines are a year old before I open a bottle.


 
A wonderful place to be, for sure!


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## Julie (Dec 12, 2011)

BobF said:


> A wonderful place to be, for sure!



yes it is, lol, i had to learn the hardway. I now make skeeter pee strictly for my family. They now leave my good wine alone. I cannot give someone a bottle of zinfindal or riesling when they tell me that they drank it from a plastic tumbler full of ice.


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## dangerdave (Dec 12, 2011)

Julie said:


> yes it is, lol, i had to learn the hardway. I now make skeeter pee strictly for my family. They now leave my good wine alone. I cannot give someone a bottle of zinfindal or riesling when they tell me that they drank it from a plastic tumbler full of ice.



How long did it take to get to this point, Julie? I'm starting to bulk age my good stuff so they won't bother it. I keep cranking out Pee, too, to keep them distracted. Time will tell.


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## Julie (Dec 12, 2011)

dangerdave said:


> How long did it take to get to this point, Julie? I'm starting to bulk age my good stuff so they won't bother it. I keep cranking out Pee, too, to keep them distracted. Time will tell.



I have been making wine for 4 years now, going into my 5th year but after making wines for 2 years, I ended up supplying my son with wine for their wedding, which wiped me out of about 85 bottles but understand I only had about 6 caboys at that time as well.

I would say within 2 years, lol, if you are pumping out the skeeter pee you should be getting a nice supply stocked. 

ROFLMAO, and only share you good stuff with those who come to your home and force them to drink from a wine glass!


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## Wade E (Dec 12, 2011)

It really depends on how hard yowant to work the first few years. You really need to pump it out to get ahead! Once there though its much easier to let the wine age properly and then you can just plug along and keep up!


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## Dougxox (Dec 14, 2011)

capsuls are now mostly for decoration, aside from "vermin and cork wevils" the other reason for capsuls was for retails. when bottles were standing up in a store, customers would compair the amout of wine in each bottle grabbing the ones with the most in them and leaving the ones that were not filled as much. With a capsul you could not tell how much was in the bottles.


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## Runningwolf (Dec 14, 2011)

:0 Doug that is too funny as I had never heard of that but I can see people doing that.


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## Rocky (Dec 14, 2011)

Doug, I can absolutely believe that. I watched a lady in one of our local food stores picking out a package of celery. She must have examined every head in the bin. You would have thought the fate of mankind hung in the balance.


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## Lurker (Dec 16, 2011)

I only put a capsule on when it is ready to be gifted.


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## robie (Dec 16, 2011)

Dougxox said:


> capsuls are now mostly for decoration, aside from "vermin and cork wevils" the other reason for capsuls was for retails. when bottles were standing up in a store, customers would compair the amout of wine in each bottle grabbing the ones with the most in them and leaving the ones that were not filled as much. With a capsul you could not tell how much was in the bottles.



Too funny!

I don't use capsules. Here in Colorado the water boils at a lower temperature, so if you try to use boiling water to shrink them, the capsules don't shrink down evenly or as well. Just don't see the need to spend the money for the right equipment to do it properly, I guess. 

As a side, nowadays the commercial bottles are filled with machines, so typically the levels should be very nearly the same from bottle to bottle for a particular label. So, when you see a bottle, whose level is low, it is a good indication the cork has been leaking, so the wine most likely will not be much good.


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## Dougxox (Dec 21, 2011)

robie said:


> Too funny!
> 
> As a side, nowadays the commercial bottles are filled with machines, so typically the levels should be very nearly the same from bottle to bottle for a particular label.



Even so, there may be a slight difference in bottle fill if even by 1/4 inch (which may only be a teaspoon full) in the neck some tightwad would grab that one.


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## Giovannino (Dec 21, 2011)

> Here in Colorado the water boils at a lower temperature



Serious question. Are you being serious? Call this Canuck stupid but I've never heard of water boiling at different temps. I guess I'll have to look this one up on Wikepedia.

*Ooops! Just did. Who says this place is only for learning about lachryma vitis.*


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## Runningwolf (Dec 21, 2011)

Giovannino said:


> Serious question. Are you being serious? Call this Canuck stupid but I've never heard of water boiling at different temps. I guess I'll have to look this one up on Wikepedia.
> 
> *Ooops! Just did. Who says this place is only for learning about lachryma vitis.*



Giovannino you crack me up. LMAO I believe altitude can change everything including cooking temperatures for recipes.


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## Lurker (Dec 21, 2011)

I finally learned about lachryma vitis. Not related to St. Vitis dance.


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