# Corks - Now I am worried.



## Kev

As a newbie, we just had our first bottling weekend. 

A chocolate Orange port, an Amarone, and a Chilean Malbec Shiraz.

They only got bulk aged just over a month more than the instructions state.

The good news, all three tasted very good, even at this early stage. The Malbec perhaps a little too strong on the oak, but I expect that will settle with time.

There was a half bottle of each left which I corked until the next day.

As the two big reds were intended for aging, at the recommendation of the wine store, I used synthetic corks.

Both corks I removed have a score line down one side of the cork, likely from the jaws in my new floor corker.
It looks just like you took your thumb nail and made a line down the length of the cork.

I am worried this could cause an air leak. The bottles are still vertical.


The standard cork in the port is fine.

Do I need to remove the seals and all the corks and replace them? 60 bottles.


----------



## Wade E

Im guessing you have a Port. floor corker! This is a well known problem and yes you may want to remove and recork using non synthetic with a Port corker.


----------



## Kev

Yes it is a plastic jaw Port. Corker. The new purple color version, which I was told by the wine store was an upgrade to the older orange version. Further I was told it was the orange version that had the scoring problem. However I seem to have confirmed otherwise. 

I guess I have to give up on synthetic corks, as I am unable to find a reasonable corker that works with them.

Kev


----------



## Kev

Is there a better corker I can get?

If not what is a proper cork for 5 years storage?


----------



## Wade E

Synthetics arent as good for aging anyways!


----------



## Kev

A little research suggests I need to get the Italian corker instead of Portuguese, if I want to use good ( synthetic ) corks.

I don't mind spending the extra $70, I just want it to work with these corks.

Kev


----------



## vacuumpumpman

I will typically use synthetics corks and push them down atleast 1/4'' and add wax to insure a proper seal

thanks steve


----------



## Wade E

Kev, youd be better off buying Bi-disc corks, there way better then synthetic corks are and they will work with your corker and let your wine age much better.


----------



## Runningwolf

I agree. I use 1+1.


----------



## Kev

Wade E said:


> Kev, youd be better off buying Bi-disc corks, there way better then synthetic corks are and they will work with your corker and let your wine age much better.



Are those the ones with aglomerated cork in the middle but end caps of solid cork?

I have seen those on-line, but not at the wine stores.


----------



## Wade E

Yes, Dan and a few people buy them in quantity from a place at a veru reasonable place but not sure if they sell in less then 1000 but if not check out our sponsors, I know The Wine Makers Toy Store sells them at good prices and Im sure our other sponsor Brew & Winw Supply can get them also. They are designed for long term storage. Of you font plan on aging past say 2 years the Perfect Agglomerate are just fine and I have many wines aged about 5 years in tjem and they are better then ever still so that aging statement is just a precaution!


----------



## Kev

I could by 1000, but that is a three year supply for me. Do they keep that long ?

The wax sounds like an interesting fix for the ones already done.

Is that a simple process?


----------



## Dugger

Kev - I have been using synthetic corks ( nomacorc) with my portuguese corker for about 8 years now with no problems. I occasionally see a crease but it has not affected the cork performance so I would suggest you don't write off synthetics without giving them a chance. Put your bottles on their side, if not already, and see if the wine migrates into this crease; I think you will find it doesn't, but if it does then at least you will know for sure that you have a problem. Also keep in mind that not all synthetics are created equal - some are not as pliable and therefore harder for the iris to compress and this could create a creasing problem.


----------



## Kev

Just an update. Many of the synthetic corks did leak, so I am back to cork. Just very slow leaks, so only several ounces lost. Wine was still good.

More research has confirmed any iris type corkers should not be used with synthetic corks. Other than a hard to use for higher volumes, double lever corker, I cannot find a non iris corker, in my price range.

Still looking for a Canadian source ( to save shipping and brokerage costs) of the twin disk type of cork.


----------



## jswordy

FWIW, I have read a fix to the Port corker problem on this very forum. It involves diassembling the iris assembly and sanding the iris jaws, IIRC. Still trying to search it out. If I find the link, will add it.

UNDER EDIT: eureka!

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f83/synthetic-corks-1735/


----------



## Erica

Here's the best corks and the link to buy them, there's nothing that compares. I would never buy cheap corks again after losing the batch of wine I made a few months back.
Link: http://www.widgetco.com/wine-corks-flor-quality-24-45

Flor Quality Natural Wine Corks

Suggested for wines: 12+ years old
Material: Highest Grade Natural Cork (1st of 9)
Diameter: #9 (24mm)
Length: 1-3/4" (44mm)
Fits: Standard Wine Bottles (750ml)

Natural "Flor" Wine Corks are natural wine corks intended for wine storage of 12+ years. Natural wine corks are punched from cork oak bark harvested once every 9 years, then dried for up to 2 more years. The wine corks are punched from the cork oak bark and then sorted by quality; the fewer the lenticels (crevise like imperfections) the better the wine cork. "Flor" is considered the highest quality-grade natural wine cork.

Made from 100% natural cork harvested in Portugal. All corks are TCA treated, carefully handled and ready for bottling. Large orders are packaged in S02 packaging. This wine cork will compress to fit standard wine bottles - corker is required.


----------



## pwh

Going to the wine stores, they have them locally here. Just bought 100.


----------



## XPLSV

Erica said:


> Here's the best corks and the link to buy them, there's nothing that compares. I would never buy cheap corks again after losing the batch of wine I made a few months back.
> Link: http://www.widgetco.com/wine-corks-flor-quality-24-45
> 
> Flor Quality Natural Wine Corks
> 
> Suggested for wines: 12+ years old
> Material: Highest Grade Natural Cork (1st of 9)
> Diameter: #9 (24mm)
> Length: 1-3/4" (44mm)
> Fits: Standard Wine Bottles (750ml)
> 
> Natural "Flor" Wine Corks are natural wine corks intended for wine storage of 12+ years. Natural wine corks are punched from cork oak bark harvested once every 9 years, then dried for up to 2 more years. The wine corks are punched from the cork oak bark and then sorted by quality; the fewer the lenticels (crevise like imperfections) the better the wine cork. "Flor" is considered the highest quality-grade natural wine cork.
> 
> Made from 100% natural cork harvested in Portugal. All corks are TCA treated, carefully handled and ready for bottling. Large orders are packaged in S02 packaging. This wine cork will compress to fit standard wine bottles - corker is required.



I had come across this page before and I really had to ponder whether my Wife would allow a bottle to be around for that long...


----------



## mikey1273

I have the Port. corker and I just bottled an Island Mist wine with #8 corks that came with my equipment kit. They seemed to work okay and there are no leaks. it was also my first batch of wine and it turned out nice. I know that #8 is not good for longer storage and the Island mist wine was only done as a summer drinking wine not planning to keep it around more than the end of summer. 

I am now making a Shiraz and going to make a Chianti soon, both I want to store a little longer. the Chianti I may want to keep some of that a few years to age nice and probably won't even drink any of it until its aged six months or more. I am looking at using just #9 corks from here on out too.

so what natural cork is going to work good for that? I was going to buy some of these:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/9-premium-corks-15-16-x-1-3-4.html 
they are more expensive than the other #9 but it might be worth it for a wine I want to keep around. 

or what about these : http://www.midwestsupplies.com/9-straight-corks-15-16-x-1-3-4.html

I can buy them by the 100 @ a more affordable price. I may buy both and use the Premium #9 cork in the Chianti and the cheaper #9 in all other bottles that I may not plan to keep for years. just looking for other opinions.


----------



## jswordy

mikey1273 said:


> I have the Port. corker and I just bottled an Island Mist wine with #8 corks that came with my equipment kit. They seemed to work okay and there are no leaks. it was also my first batch of wine and it turned out nice. I know that #8 is not good for longer storage and the Island mist wine was only done as a summer drinking wine not planning to keep it around more than the end of summer.
> 
> I am now making a Shiraz and going to make a Chianti soon, both I want to store a little longer. the Chianti I may want to keep some of that a few years to age nice and probably won't even drink any of it until its aged six months or more. I am looking at using just #9 corks from here on out too.
> 
> so what natural cork is going to work good for that? I was going to buy some of these:
> 
> http://www.midwestsupplies.com/9-premium-corks-15-16-x-1-3-4.html
> they are more expensive than the other #9 but it might be worth it for a wine I want to keep around.
> 
> or what about these : http://www.midwestsupplies.com/9-straight-corks-15-16-x-1-3-4.html
> 
> I can buy them by the 100 @ a more affordable price. I may buy both and use the Premium #9 cork in the Chianti and the cheaper #9 in all other bottles that I may not plan to keep for years. just looking for other opinions.



I use the #9 agglomerated corks and buy them by the 100 from whoever the cheapest supplier is at the time. My wines are stored a year or two. If I were ever to do long-term storage, I'd go synthetic.

Natural corks: http://www.corkstore.com/Products/Natural-Wine-Corks/Wine-Cork-Natural-9x45mm-2nd-print


----------



## XPLSV

Having just got back into some winemaking after an initial couple of batches back in the 80's, the wife and I bought a Portugese floor corker right off the bat. Our first bottling was lower priced wine kit that came with corks and we used those corks. We recently bottled a batch from last fall's grape harvest and I bought premium natural corks for those. The premium corks bottled much smoother than the cheaper ones that came with the kit. With the kit corks, I had some shavings off several of the corks, larger dimples in the top of the cork immediately following corking, and they did not seem to seat as easily/fluidly as the more expensive corks. I had no leaks with either.

Bernie


----------



## Runningwolf

Bernie, smart buy on the Portugese corker. I can't comment on the corks you got with the kit not knowing what they were but it does pay to get half decent corks. For wines your going to drink within three years I would not go over board in buying the best corks. Also, I'm sure you've read it several times by now, do not soak your corks.


----------



## mikey1273

Ok so you say don't soak your corks.... they do need sanitized? I just made a bowl of potassium meta sulfide solution big enough to hold the 30 corks dumped them in swished them around so they were all wet with the solution and drained it off. Am I making my corks too wet?


----------



## Runningwolf

You'll be fine.


----------



## garymc

I have a port Corker and have used synthetic Nomacork, agglomerated, agglomerated with discs, and premium natural corks. None have leaked. The Nomacorks are softer and go in easier and they also come out much easier. But they smell like old rubber and the neck of the bottle smells like rubber. So I'm not using them anymore. My wine is muscadine and 16 to 18%, so maybe there is odd chemistry going on. I don't and wouldn't oak my wine but the natural corks are made from oak bark. I find that months down the road, cork beats rubber and premium corks have given me noticeably better wine. I have a friend who has recently gotten a winery license (went legit.) I think he buys premium corks from Grapeman. So I get mine from him. I wouldn't use synthetic corks now if they were free. I have to point out that muscadine wine (mine at least) benefits greatly from aging.


----------



## bstnh1

Erica said:


> Here's the best corks and the link to buy them, there's nothing that compares. I would never buy cheap corks again after losing the batch of wine I made a few months back.
> Link: http://www.widgetco.com/wine-corks-flor-quality-24-45
> 
> Flor Quality Natural Wine Corks
> 
> Suggested for wines: 12+ years old
> Material: Highest Grade Natural Cork (1st of 9)
> Diameter: #9 (24mm)
> Length: 1-3/4" (44mm)
> Fits: Standard Wine Bottles (750ml)
> 
> Natural "Flor" Wine Corks are natural wine corks intended for wine storage of 12+ years. Natural wine corks are punched from cork oak bark harvested once every 9 years, then dried for up to 2 more years. The wine corks are punched from the cork oak bark and then sorted by quality; the fewer the lenticels (crevise like imperfections) the better the wine cork. "Flor" is considered the highest quality-grade natural wine cork.
> 
> Made from 100% natural cork harvested in Portugal. All corks are TCA treated, carefully handled and ready for bottling. Large orders are packaged in S02 packaging. This wine cork will compress to fit standard wine bottles - corker is required.



I've been using the bi-disc corks from Widgetco for a couple of years and have had no problems.


----------



## Deezil

If you dont wanna spend a dollar a bottle on just the cork, MoreWine occasionally sells (look in the late fall / early winter) over-prints on Grade 3 corks that have been ordered and returned by larger wineries

I picked up 2, 100-count bags for roughly 1/2 the price of normal Grade 3 corks, and have only had to discard roughly a half-dozen because they dont meet my personal standards..

Found several varieties of Kendall Jackson prints, among others, printed on corks I ordered

Those 'Flor' corks, are just a fancy name for Grade 1 corks


----------

