# Corks and a corker.



## Intheswamp (Sep 1, 2019)

I'm thinking of going ahead and biting the bullet and buying a floor corker before I try tackling my 3-gallon carboy of seven-year-old traditional mead. The one that I'm looking at is the red Portuguese floor corker. It seems to have been well thought of and recommended over the last several years. Are the current ones still decent corkers? I know how quality can change over time and just making sure it's still a good one.

Also, corks... I've got some corks but I had bought them when I pitched the yeast for the mead so they're seven years old, too. From what I've read they've probably dried out too much for sealing wine bottles. Looking around I'm not sure what to buy...seems there's several brands and whatever. I'll go with #9 non-synthetic. Any recommendations on what and where to buy some. Or, could my old corks still be good?

Thanks for the feedback! I'll quit asking all these questions...in a few years. 
Ed


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## cmason1957 (Sep 2, 2019)

I am a fan of the Blue Italian floor corker. Brass Jaws, longer handle, slightly taller. A bit more expensive, but you can usually find it for under $100. Corks, I like the #9, bidisc corks. They are high quality corks on either end and an ammolgorated cork in the middle.


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## robert81650 (Sep 2, 2019)

The red Portuguese corker works fine for me.....


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## Intheswamp (Sep 2, 2019)

Thanks for the feedback! So the current red Portuguese corkers haven't been cheapened down build wise, eh? I'm not going to bottle but maybe 25-30 bottles a year so the Portuguese should work well for me, I was just wondering about recent reviews of it. If there were horror stories I was going to look up the food chain at a higher-end corker. I like the Italian corker, but it's overkill for what I anticipate doing with a corker. I haven't seen one of the Italians for less than around $115. If I could get it down to $100 or so I'd probably have to go for it.

robert81650, when did you purchase your Portuguese?

cmason1957, I looked at Morewine and found a pdf on what I think are their bidisc corks. I was looking at these corks on MoreWine: 
Wine Corks - 1 3/4 in Agglomerated 1+1 and noted a pdf file with details on the corks. One thing that got my attention is that they recommend using all of the corks within 6 to 9 months of the production date on the bag and *all* the corks in the bag should be used upon opening the bag. I figure I'll be corking 5-10 bottles at a time. Hmmm, maybe I need to figure on capping the bottles.<sigh>


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## Jal5 (Sep 2, 2019)

Don’t rule out looking fir a used floor corker. I got the Portuguese one at a very reasonable price in good condition last year. 
Joe


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## Intheswamp (Sep 2, 2019)

In my area Craigslist, etc., are a desert region...not much there. But, I've found one listed I've inquired about but haven't gotten a reply back. 

I've seen a Portuguese corker that is a darker red color than the regular one...more of a maroon color. I've only seen it listed a few places and it's billed as being "better" than the red one. I believe it is a couple of inches taller, maybe a longer handle, and maybe another different feature or two. And it's usually about $20-25 higher priced. Of course when you move up that much in price you start approaching the Italian floor corker's price so it's kind of in a no-man's zone in regards to price point. 

I may just bite the bullet and order a red Portuguese from one of the vendors.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 2, 2019)

Ok, the regular red Portuguese corker has four nylon/plastic jaws for compressing the cork. From what I can find the maroon colored Portuguese-type corker is the "Excelvin Floor Corker by Distrivin"...and it (from what I can tell) only has three jaws. It seems to me that the Excelvin is slightly larger and maybe a bit heavier. But it seems to me that four jaws would center up a cork better than three jaws could. The three jaws would be a simpler construction, I suppose, which could be a better thing...but, I'm thinking the fourth jaw is better. Any thoughts on this?


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## Rocky (Sep 3, 2019)

If I were talking about only bottling 25-30 bottles a year, I am not sure I would invest in a floor corker unless I got an absolute steal, pricewise.

I would just get one of these: https://labelpeelers.com/portuguese-double-lever-corker/

I had one years ago when I got back into making wine again and did not get a floor corker until my bottling exceeded about 200 or so.

As regards corks, I use the bi-disc described by cmason1987, above, #9 by 1.75".


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## Intheswamp (Sep 3, 2019)

Thanks for the feedback, Rocky. I want to age some of the wine I make for an extended period of time so I was interested in using #9 corks, thus my interest in a floor corker. I went ahead and punched the button on a Portuguese corker last night. The bi-disc corks sound good, but as I was reading the description of the ones on MoreWine it appears that you're supposed to use all the corks immediately after opening the bags. The smallest bag is 25-count so with my three gallons of mead I'd have possibly 10 left over if I didn't make mistakes while corking. Can they be resealed and stored at least a few months and still be ok to use?


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## beano (Sep 3, 2019)

I use the double levered Portuguese corker and it works well for me bottling 12-25 bottles at a time. It does tend to put a dimple in the cork though. Not a problem to me, but some my not like that.


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## Rocky (Sep 3, 2019)

II was not aware that one must use the bi-disc immediately after opening. I normally buy in bags of 1000 and break them down into "Ziplok" bags of 100. I have not noticed a problem with this procedure but I may have a time bomb on my hands!

I have the Italian floor corker and my son-in-law has the Portuguese model. We are both happy with our machines. I find that maintenance is important in either case. After using the corkers, is spritz it with K meta solution, rinse with clear water and blow dry with my compressor. I have had my corker for about 8 years and have bottled 1000's of bottles of wine with it. It is wearing and is getting a little loose so I have ordered some bearings to fix the problem from a suggestion by NorCal.


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## sour_grapes (Sep 3, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> The smallest bag is 25-count so with my three gallons of mead I'd have possibly 10 left over if I didn't make mistakes while corking. Can they be resealed and stored at least a few months and still be ok to use?



I have not had any problems using corks that sat open for months and months.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 3, 2019)

beano said:


> I use the double levered Portuguese corker and it works well for me bottling 12-25 bottles at a time. It does tend to put a dimple in the cork though. Not a problem to me, but some my not like that.


beano, what size corks are you using with your double lever corker?


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## wpt-me (Sep 3, 2019)

I use #9 with mine. The only thing I watch is getting the cork centered in corker.

Bill


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## Intheswamp (Sep 3, 2019)

Rocky said:


> II was not aware that one must use the bi-disc immediately after opening. I normally buy in bags of 1000 and break them down into "Ziplok" bags of 100. I have not noticed a problem with this procedure but I may have a time bomb on my hands!
> 
> I have the Italian floor corker and my son-in-law has the Portuguese model. We are both happy with our machines. I find that maintenance is important in either case. After using the corkers, is spritz it with K meta solution, rinse with clear water and blow dry with my compressor. I have had my corker for about 8 years and have bottled 1000's of bottles of wine with it. It is wearing and is getting a little loose so I have ordered some bearings to fix the problem from a suggestion by NorCal.



I'm definitely going by what I've read. It just seems that if you use the other corks in the bag within a reasonable length of time (whatever that is) that they should be ok. I mean it's not like we're gonna throw'em on a table we cleaned a mess of fish on last night to sort'em in piles to pack in smaller units. 

It is interesting that you mention spritzing your corker with k-meta. I've read folks say not to do that for possible corrosion issues. I do see your rinsing with clear water. I may forego the k-meta on mine. Maybe wipe the punch-pin/corker-pin/(or whatever it's called) with some k-meta or Star San. No more bottles that I'll run through in one batch I can hopefully take my time and keep things neat and clean. It seems the suspect area would be the surface of the compression jaws that come in contact with the corks...plastic doesn't corrode but I'm not sure how one would really sanitize them inside the capper without getting it on metal surfaces. We'll see how it goes. 

Anybody want to mention where they get there corks from? I've read review after review and it seems like it's a crap shoot between "the ends tear and leave bits of cork in the wine" to "they work great for long term aging". And...reviews...can they even be trusted these days.<sigh>


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## bstnh1 (Sep 3, 2019)

Rocky said:


> If I were talking about only bottling 25-30 bottles a year, I am not sure I would invest in a floor corker unless I got an absolute steal, pricewise.
> 
> I would just get one of these: https://labelpeelers.com/portuguese-double-lever-corker/
> 
> ...



I used the double lever corker for years. Best move I ever made was getting a Portuguese Floor Corker to replace it. It's so much easier and does a much better job. No comparison at all.


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## bstnh1 (Sep 3, 2019)

cmason1957 said:


> I am a fan of the Blue Italian floor corker. Brass Jaws, longer handle, slightly taller. A bit more expensive, but you can usually find it for under $100. Corks, I like the #9, bidisc corks. They are high quality corks on either end and an ammolgorated cork in the middle.


Where do you buy the bi-discs? I've been getting mine from Widgetco, but the last batch I got don't look that great - lots of open areas in the discs.


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## cmason1957 (Sep 3, 2019)

bstnh1 said:


> Where do you buy the bi-discs? I've been getting mine from Widgetco, but the last batch I got don't look that great - lots of open areas in the discs.



I believe I got my last batch from my LHBS. For some reason they always have the best prices on corks. Also, and take this for what it is worth. I always buy a bag of 1000, split it into three containers when I open it and sprinkle some K-Meta in there with the corks. Then use them as I bottle. I haven't had an issue doing it that way in over 4 years.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 3, 2019)

Does anybody have an opinion on LabelPeelers or MoreWine's bi-disc corks?

Btw, I looked up widgetco.com and checked the corks out. The photos sure are pretty, eh?  What caught my attention was that the description stated good for "4 years". If I want to age some wine for possibly 10-15 years are the bi-disc corks my best option or ?????

One day, when I croak, I'll stop asking questions. Hmm, I need to start thinking about an epitaph. <grin>


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## cmason1957 (Sep 3, 2019)

I think it might be time for me to look closer at these corks. Wine Corks - 1 3/4 in. Acquamark Corks.

The words say - These corks have the ageable lifespan of Natural Cork, but are closer to the price of an agglomerated or overrun cork. Price seems to be reasonable to me, much less than I remember buying from my LHBS for the bi-disc ones.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 3, 2019)

Well, as indecisive as I am I went with three different corks. I ordered from MoreWineMaking. 
Here is what I ordered:
1 3/4 in Agglomerated 1+1 (25)
1 3/4" Grade 3 (25)
1 3/4 in Acquamark (25)

The Grade 3 corks were rather pricey but I'll be bottling three gallons of the seven year old mead with them. The least expensive was the Acquamark...hopefully they will be a good batch. The Acquamark appear to be a good cork for long-term use...naturally the #3's are supposed to be the best. And, of course, I ordered the bi-discs. This will give me corks to work with over the next year or so, hopefully I'll figure out what works the best for me. Thanks for all the feedback!!!!


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## beano (Sep 4, 2019)

@Intheswamp 
I use the # 9 amalgamated corks.


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## bstnh1 (Sep 4, 2019)

cmason1957 said:


> I think it might be time for me to look closer at these corks. Wine Corks - 1 3/4 in. Acquamark Corks.
> 
> The words say - These corks have the ageable lifespan of Natural Cork, but are closer to the price of an agglomerated or overrun cork. Price seems to be reasonable to me, much less than I remember buying from my LHBS for the bi-disc ones.



I looked at quite a few reviews for these and they all seemed to rate them pretty high, even for long term storage. My only concern is that in the photos they look pretty rough. $20+ for 100 seems very reasonable and about half the price I've been paying for bi-discs.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 5, 2019)

What about "Nomacorc"? I get conflicting data on the ability of them to age wine. The website, https://www.vinventions.com/en/nomacorc , states "Wine preservation up to 25 years". But, when I go to different websites selling these corks they state (Amazon for an example here) "The classic green is ideal for wines with aging requirements up to 5 years". Other sellers that advertise Nomacorc corks simply call them "Nomacorc" with no specific version stated...they further use the phrase "several years" rather than a specific number of years that the corks are good for.

Ok, I did some more searching and found this pdf file/website: https://corksupply.com/assets/Uploads/Nomacorc-SelectGreen-sellsheet-EN-US-Mid.pdf This article shows that Nomacorc produces three synthetic corks: "Select Green 500" rated for 8 years, "Select Green 300" rated for 10 years, and "Select Green 100" rated for 15 years.

Interesting tidbit... I was reading under the " Product Use and Care" page where they say not to use an iris-type corker on the Nomacorc "Natural" corks. They don't state that about the synthectic corks, though, but do caution that the manual corkers should be inspected so as not to damage the synthectics. 

FWIW.


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## beano (Sep 5, 2019)

I have heard/read of insertion problems with the Nomacorc but can not testify to that. Wrinkling or some such problem. I think it depends on the type of corker being used. Hearsay of coarse. I will not testify!


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## bstnh1 (Sep 5, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> What about "Nomacorc"? I get conflicting data on the ability of them to age wine. The website, https://www.vinventions.com/en/nomacorc , states "Wine preservation up to 25 years". But, when I go to different websites selling these corks they state (Amazon for an example here) "The classic green is ideal for wines with aging requirements up to 5 years". Other sellers that advertise Nomacorc corks simply call them "Nomacorc" with no specific version stated...they further use the phrase "several years" rather than a specific number of years that the corks are good for.
> 
> Ok, I did some more searching and found this pdf file/website: https://corksupply.com/assets/Uploads/Nomacorc-SelectGreen-sellsheet-EN-US-Mid.pdf This article shows that Nomacorc produces three synthetic corks: "Select Green 500" rated for 8 years, "Select Green 300" rated for 10 years, and "Select Green 100" rated for 15 years.
> 
> ...


On the carolinawinesupply site it says not to use the Nomacorc Green series with hand or manual corkers as they will crease the cork and it will leak. They suggest using the Nomacorc Select 900 series for hand or manual corkers. $120/ bag of 1000. Good price. Didn't see any info on aging with these.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 5, 2019)

I saw one place that said the Gilda hand corker could be used.


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## winemaker81 (Sep 6, 2019)

I've been using Nomacorcs for a couple of years or so, about 300 bottles. I've had no problems with wrinkling or leaking, using an Italian floor corker.

However, I'm not sure which corks I have. The link Intheswamp posted for CorkSupply shows the name "Nomacorc" printed on the side.

I have ordered from Midwest Home Brewing and Winemaking Supplies on Amazon. The corks they picture and that I received have a picture of a grape bunch printed on the side.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/node/8911098011?_encoding=UTF8&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies&ref_=bl_dp_s_web_8911098011

Whatever I'm using, I'm pleased with them. At this time I can't comment on ageability -- ask again in 5 years.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 6, 2019)

Thanks for the feedback. I looked at the Amazon linked corks and realized I had seen them before and was confused about how they looked compared to what was shown on the Nomacorc link. In reviewing some of the questions asked by people on Amazon a couple of sellers stated that Amazon did indeed have the wrong picture showing. Lots of users report using iris/floor corkers with no problem...even one person reported using a double-handled Portugese hand corker.

Here is a link to a listing which I believe are true Nomacorcs...the ends of the corks appear to be identical to the ends of the corks shown on Nomacorc's webpage, 60-unit back for a decent price: https://www.amazon.com/North-Mounta...ords=nomacorc&qid=1567776522&s=gateway&sr=8-8 It's got me wondering if this would be the way to go...I'm not sure I'll be able to store much wine with the bottle laying horizontal...vertical would work better for me and these synthetic corks are supposed to handle the vertical position ok. My newbieness is probably very evident at this point.


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## M38A1 (Sep 11, 2019)

I have a Portuguese corker and probably corked 60 cases in the past 18 months and it's never had so much as a hiccup. As for corks, I'm using just a simple 9x1-1/2 Nomacorc Synthetic cork too. Nothing fancy and they seem to work well for what I'm doing as a rookie at this. And I'm storing all my 750ml bottles horizontally. All the 375's are upright. Heat shrink-wraps on top of all bottles.


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## bstnh1 (Sep 12, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> Thanks for the feedback. I looked at the Amazon linked corks and realized I had seen them before and was confused about how they looked compared to what was shown on the Nomacorc link. In reviewing some of the questions asked by people on Amazon a couple of sellers stated that Amazon did indeed have the wrong picture showing. Lots of users report using iris/floor corkers with no problem...even one person reported using a double-handled Portugese hand corker.
> 
> Here is a link to a listing which I believe are true Nomacorcs...the ends of the corks appear to be identical to the ends of the corks shown on Nomacorc's webpage, 60-unit back for a decent price: https://www.amazon.com/North-Mounta...ords=nomacorc&qid=1567776522&s=gateway&sr=8-8 It's got me wondering if this would be the way to go...I'm not sure I'll be able to store much wine with the bottle laying horizontal...vertical would work better for me and these synthetic corks are supposed to handle the vertical position ok. My newbieness is probably very evident at this point.



You can easily store just as much wine horizontally in the same space as vertically if we're not talking extreme heights. I store mine in wine boxes, taped shut, on their side. No problem with 3 cases high. Plenty of wine boxes available in grocery stores, liquor stores and local wineries.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 14, 2019)

@M38A1 , thanks for the feedback on the Portuguese corker. I did my small amount of bottles this evening. Used #9x1.75 corks. The little red corker did a really nice job. I think I'm going to get a tube of Loctite (blue, or purple) and put a couple of drops on the cork depth-nut. Seems it turns freely and threw me off a couple of times...setting a few corks a bit deeper than I wanted. It really made corking effortless!!! I'd recommend it to anybody, short of a commercial/large-scale fermenter.

@bstnh1 , I consider the vertical storage. We have a vacant house trailer on the property that we had set up for my MIL and there's a small bedroom I'm thinking of turning into a small wine storage/fermenting area. The vertical storage might work, but I'm not sure I'll have a great amount to store...but, you never know what will happen!  Horizontal storage is definitely in the future!


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## M38A1 (Sep 15, 2019)

Yeah, my little collar nut will rotate sometimes. I simply took a sharpie pen and drew a vertical line on it facing me at the depth I wanted. That way I can generally 'zero' it anytime I need to.

I gave thought to a wrap or two of teflon tape to keep it in one place, but honestly it's never moved more than an 1/8 of a turn in either direction. I suppose if you really wanted to get fancy you could see what the thread pitch is (I'd guess a coarse 16) which means there's 16 threads per inch. That equates to roughly 1/16th of an inch for each rotation of the seating collar. Too deep by a 16th? Spin it a revolution down Too shallow by a 16th? Spin it a revolution up. 

My bottles aren't that picky.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 16, 2019)

To be honest, the nut spins pretty freely on mine. After 3-4 bottles it would be perceptively moved. Not sure why it would spin, though. Simply vibration/movement, I suppose. Strange, though, that it was set at the proper depth on the first bottle that I used it on. Seems like if it was vibration that moved it that shipping it would have moved it. Ah well, a mystery of life. I'll either go with teflon tape or Loctite for a little more consistency.


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## gsf77 (Sep 16, 2019)

Intheswamp, You watch out for those sugar ants around there. We got 'em bad in central Alabama. I lost 4 five frame nucs to them and just recently overnight they invaded my house and drowned by the thousands in one of my two 5 gallon buckets of fresh apple juice. Is the trailer climate controled?


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## crabjoe (Sep 16, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> To be honest, the nut spins pretty freely on mine. After 3-4 bottles it would be perceptively moved. Not sure why it would spin, though. Simply vibration/movement, I suppose. Strange, though, that it was set at the proper depth on the first bottle that I used it on. Seems like if it was vibration that moved it that shipping it would have moved it. Ah well, a mystery of life. I'll either go with teflon tape or Loctite for a little more consistency.


I picked up a Portugese floor corker and the nut is as loose as can be.. It's going to be months before I get a chance to use it, but I'm thinking what I can do to keep it from spinning on its own, when I do try it. I think I'm going to try the teflon tape since I've got rolls of it around here somewhere.. If you've had a chance to try either, please let me know how it turned out.


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## Johnd (Sep 16, 2019)

crabjoe said:


> I picked up a Portugese floor corker and the nut is as loose as can be.. It's going to be months before I get a chance to use it, but I'm thinking what I can do to keep it from spinning on its own, when I do try it. I think I'm going to try the teflon tape since I've got rolls of it around here somewhere.. If you've had a chance to try either, please let me know how it turned out.



I've had teflon tape on mine for years, it keeps the nut where you want it, but allows it to be adjusted with your fingers. If you use loc-tite, the nut will not easily be adjustable by hand, you may need to use a hand tool to do so.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 16, 2019)

gsf77 said:


> Intheswamp, You watch out for those sugar ants around there. We got 'em bad in central Alabama. I lost 4 five frame nucs to them and just recently overnight they invaded my house and drowned by the thousands in one of my two 5 gallon buckets of fresh apple juice. Is the trailer climate controled?


Man, I might be close to you. I'm in Crenshaw and yeah, we got the johnbrown ants, too!!!! Everything will be going all peaches and cream and then "BAM!!!!" you open a cabinet door or walk into the kitchen and there they are!!! I hate those suckers!!!! One tip for eradicating the groups you run into in the house is to use a Clorox Wipe (or generic form of it)...simply wipe over the ants and it more or less kills them on the spot...sanitizes at the same time!! I hate that they got into your apple juice!!!! But really hate it more that they got your nucs. I haven't actively worked bees in several years due to running into a problem with my ticker...surprisingly I've got three colonies that have survived for several years...I'm calling them survivors now because they've been on their own for quiet a while now. I keep saying each year I'm going to open'em up and put some supers on top...maybe this coming spring!!! 

As for the trailer, it has central heating and cooling but if I've got a Inkbird temperature controller ordered (there on sale right now) and it will operate a small electric heater and a/c. So will be able to keep it fairly constant temperature. I'm also going to have a regular bug-spray routine.



crabjoe said:


> I picked up a Portugese floor corker and the nut is as loose as can be.. It's going to be months before I get a chance to use it, but I'm thinking what I can do to keep it from spinning on its own, when I do try it. I think I'm going to try the teflon tape since I've got rolls of it around here somewhere.. If you've had a chance to try either, please let me know how it turned out.





Johnd said:


> I've had teflon tape on mine for years, it keeps the nut where you want it, but allows it to be adjusted with your fingers. If you use loc-tite, the nut will not easily be adjustable by hand, you may need to use a hand tool to do so.



crabjoe , looked like John has answered our question regarding securing the nut. The teflon tape makes more sense than the Loctite. John, I'm taking it that we will run into bottles that might need more or less insertion depth than our regular bottles???


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## Johnd (Sep 16, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> John, I'm taking it that we will run into bottles that might need more or less insertion depth than our regular bottles???



Yes, it seems to vary a bit. Even using bottles that are a bit different may require a slight tweak. A little narrower neck from different bottles, maybe if you use different corks from time to time you may need to adjust the depth control.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 16, 2019)

Good information...seems simple but what you wrote is stuff you learn over a period of years!!! Thanks for sharing it, John!!!

Ed


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## M38A1 (Sep 17, 2019)

gsf77 said:


> Intheswamp, You watch out for those sugar ants around there. We got 'em bad in central Alabama. I lost 4 five frame nucs to them and just recently overnight they invaded my house and drowned by the thousands in one of my two 5 gallon buckets of fresh apple juice. Is the trailer climate controled?



....won't they just settle during clearing, or run it all through a coffee filter?


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## Intheswamp (Sep 19, 2019)

M38A1 said:


> I have a Portuguese corker and probably corked 60 cases in the past 18 months and it's never had so much as a hiccup. As for corks, I'm using just a simple 9x1-1/2 Nomacorc Synthetic cork too. Nothing fancy and they seem to work well for what I'm doing as a rookie at this. And I'm storing all my 750ml bottles horizontally. All the 375's are upright. Heat shrink-wraps on top of all bottles.


Wait a minute... You corked 60 cases in 18 months and you state "*...I'm doing as a rookie at this.*"!!!! That don't sound like a rookie to me!!!


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## Intheswamp (Sep 19, 2019)

M38A1 said:


> ....won't they just settle during clearing, or run it all through a coffee filter?


Or, a paint strainer bag.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 19, 2019)

I don't think I mentioned it, but I used the #3 grade corks from Morewine. They look very clean with few dark streaks in them. Matter of fact, after corking the ends of them almost look like white pine wood...smooth, few blemishes. FWIW.


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## M38A1 (Sep 19, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> Wait a minute... You corked 60 cases in 18 months and you state "*...I'm doing as a rookie at this.*"!!!! That don't sound like a rookie to me!!!



lol, yeah - i'm still quite the rookie at this. I liken myself to being a wine maker much like a person who uses a box cake mix is called a baker. Most of that 60 cases is Dragons Blood or Skeeter Pee, or some slight variation on the DB with different fruits. Virtually all my SP is using the gross lees of the previous DB batch. So if I make a 6gal strawberry, then I make a 6gal lemon-strawberry. Make a DB blueberry, follow it with a lemon-blueberry.

I've done three wine kits with great results - again, another box cake in my opinion with great results.

And I've tried two years now with real grapes grown locally at my brother in-laws. Horrible grapes to work with (wild mustang) due to super high acidity and very little juice per grape). But it's given me a good understanding of how to really make wine from the get-go. Sooooooo many members here have walked me through the process and have been so friendly and helping... I just find that amazing and that's why I love this forum.

My latest order is two juice buckets from the LHBS (heck, i don't even remember what i ordered) that should be in anytime. I understand they are frozen or shipped chilled and all I need to do is pop the top and let it go. Hmmmm - so many questions like "is the yeast already in there"? What's the initial SG? and so forth. Then there's sooooo much I simply don't understand like the whole SO2 thing, MLF and a host of other stuff, thus the "rookie" comment.


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## gsf77 (Sep 20, 2019)

It's easy for some of us to get hooked on the process of making wine.


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## Intheswamp (Sep 20, 2019)

Weird you should say that, gsf77. I was just this morning talking to a buddy of mine about the room in the trailer that I'm planning on fixing up to ferment and store in. I told him, "I don't drink that much wine and my wife don't drink it at all. I think I just like the process."

I tend to like to tinker with things, but, I do like to drink a little all along. And if I make a gallon or two of different things all along and stick a couple of bottles of it back for long-term aging I figure I might have some tasty drinks in my old(er) days.<GRIN>


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## Larsen Cottrell (Oct 18, 2019)

Have been using #9 natural corks, over 600 bottles, nothing older than 8 months so far, but I've read that these corks are good for 2 years storage. Have had the odd cork leak, assuming that is a probability thing rather than a problem, or I used a #8 accidentally (some bottles prefer #8's I discovered after a blue cobalt's neck split). Only problem with corks tearing is because I didn't soak them before inserting, or was trying to use #9 on a bottle that wanted #8! Have a floor corker, sometimes that doesnt line the corks up straight.


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## Rusty Nesmith (Oct 18, 2019)

Anybody looking for one of these Amazon has them for $59.


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## CDrew (Oct 18, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> What about "Nomacorc"?
> 
> Ok, I did some more searching and found this pdf file/website: https://corksupply.com/assets/Uploads/Nomacorc-SelectGreen-sellsheet-EN-US-Mid.pdf This article shows that Nomacorc produces three synthetic corks: "Select Green 500" rated for 8 years, "Select Green 300" rated for 10 years, and "Select Green 100" rated for 15 years.
> .



I bottled all of 2018 with Normacorcs and I think I have them figured out. By the way-not 1 leaker in 300+ bottles. I used a mix of Select green 300 and 500.

Select 900 are their cheapest and likely shortest lived corc. But it's the one they designate for hand corkers. These are still available on Amazon, but I'm not sure they are currently made. They may be, I just don't know. I did use 1 bag of 30 of these and they seem good.

Almost all their other corks are "Green" (As in carbon neutral, they are not green in color). THey are a plant based (sugar cane) polyethylene.

Classic Green is a 5 year cork-entry level normal cork. This would likely be sufficient for home winemakers.

Select Green 500 is an 8 year cork

Select Green 300 is a 10 year cork

Select Green 100 is a 15 year cork

Reserva is a 25+ year cork.

Then in each of the cork types there are 2 or 3 different lengths. 37, 44 and 47mm

Honestly, I think they are great. My Italian corker had no problems with the Select Green corks. No creasing, no leaks nothing at all.

Supposedly they control O2 ingress and publish the rates on their website. And the closure age rating, does corelate to O2 permeability. I think the sweet spot for home winemakers is probably the Select Green 300s. You can buy bags of 1000 on Amazon for about $250. The shelf life seems pretty infinite.


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## chicken (Oct 20, 2019)

Rusty Nesmith said:


> View attachment 57079
> 
> Anybody looking for one of these Amazon has them for $59.



Mine is arriving today! I'm so excited!


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## Jal5 (Oct 20, 2019)

chicken said:


> Mine is arriving today! I'm so excited!


That one piece of equipment changed the whole winemaking experience. I would never be without it now!


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## Intheswamp (Oct 20, 2019)

@CDrew where do you buy your corks. I've looked at several vendors and they just say "Normacorcs"...very little specifics about what they're selling. 




CDrew said:


> I bottled all of 2018 with Normacorcs and I think I have them figured out. By the way-not 1 leaker in 300+ bottles. I used a mix of Select green 300 and 500.
> 
> Select 900 are their cheapest and likely shortest lived corc. But it's the one they designate for hand corkers. These are still available on Amazon, but I'm not sure they are currently made. They may be, I just don't know. I did use 1 bag of 30 of these and they seem good.
> 
> ...


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## Scooter68 (Oct 20, 2019)

I've got the blue corker with brass jaws but it's a tabletop model. Will probably make a custom height corker stand for it so I can chose the height to work at. I like the easy to adjust bottle height option on mine it takes two hands but that's fine for me.


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## crabjoe (Oct 20, 2019)

I've got the portuguese floor corker too. Wish it could be used for sparkling wines.


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## CDrew (Oct 20, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> @CDrew where do you buy your corks. I've looked at several vendors and they just say "Normacorcs"...very little specifics about what they're selling.



Amazon. 

https://www.amazon.com/s?me=AR01OPNKCIOBT&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER


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## Intheswamp (Oct 20, 2019)

Oh well, the quantities are a bit more than I need. But, they *are* there for the getting. Thanks for the info.


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## CDrew (Oct 20, 2019)

Intheswamp said:


> Oh well, the quantities are a bit more than I need. But, they *are* there for the getting. Thanks for the info.



You need wine making friends at split up things like this. We did a 4 way split of 250 each and I filled in with a 60 count bag of the select 900s. You can buy small quantities on Amazon if you look around. Honestly, the Classic 900s may be a "5 year cork" but they seem fine when used. I'm not sure what would limit their life. Unless I learn something different over the next year, I'll use them again next year.


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## Intheswamp (Oct 20, 2019)

Yeah, I'll keep looking and maybe a group-buy might be created in the future! Great idea!


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