# to soak or not to soak (corks)



## SmokinDawg (Mar 12, 2008)

I read this article in winemaker magazine and I was wondering what everyone thought:


So, should you soak your corks or not before you use them? If you are
fortunate enough to order your corks direct from the factory, in a
sealed bag, you don’t need to, unless it helps you slip the cork into
the bottle easier with your hand corker. Similarly, if you buy your
corks from a winemaking supply store that you know has a lot of
customers and a high turnover of their cork inventory, you probably
don’t need to rinse or soak your corks either. If, however, you aren’t
in either of the above camps and don’t know how long your corks have
been exposed to the air, where they came from or how old they are, it
might be a good idea — or at the least it’ll make you feel like you’re
doing something to help. 




I think this is where most of our good-intentioned soaking of corks
comes from. Since we know we may have to (at least in some situations)
accept less-than-ideal corks, we feel that a quick dip in a 70 ppm
sulfite solution spiked with 1 g/L of tartaric acid (one of the many
sulfite cocktails I’ve seen in use) may at least rinse the dust away
and retard some surface-dwelling bad guys. Unfortunately, the reality
is that once a cork has dried out and a mold colony has invaded its
nooks and crannies, there’s very little that a winemaker can do,
whether working for a top of the line facility or simply making it work
in their garage. Even a rigorous wash in a sulfite solution, or any
other available sanitizing compound — no matter how strong — won’t be
able to do much. Wash corks in water that isn’t sulfited and you may
even increase the chance of infecting your corks by providing
opportunistic microorganisms with a source of moisture.
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## geocorn (Mar 12, 2008)

We recommend using a cork humidor. This is our article from a previous newsletter:


How to Sanitize Your Corks


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## Wade E (Mar 12, 2008)

Soaking corks in water may do more damage then good. Best bet is to buy good corks and make your self a cork humidor using a food grade bucket and a bottle of sanitizer in the bottom and poor your corks around the open bottle and seal with a tight lid. Be careful when opening and preferably open outdoors as the stank will knock you right out of your shoes. These are the corks i use and they are awesome. there (possibly) may be better but for the money they are the best in my opinion.
<table ="Catalog" id="products" align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><t><tr><td ="table" align="default" width="2%"><div align="center">2320A </td>
<td width="5%"><div align="center">




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<td width="20%">

Straight Corks - Fine Vine Wines Perfect Agglomerate #9 X 1.75


Package of 30</td>
<td width="2%"><div align="right">$5.39</td>
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</td></tr></t></table>


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## masta (Mar 12, 2008)

Soak your tired aching feet but not your corks!


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## Dean (Mar 12, 2008)

I only soak one end of my corks, and that is with wine when the bottle is on its side.


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## SmokinDawg (Mar 13, 2008)

thanks for the link george, as I buy my corks from you I will make my humidor forthwith


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## Wade E (Mar 13, 2008)

Smokin, just get a MM All Juice kit and yo have a cork humidor bucket and some great wine. Its a win/win situation!


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## pizz65 (Mar 13, 2008)

I think the corks I got from George in my equipment kit are like a man made item, or am I wrong?? He sends 30 of them. Do I sanitize them?


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## NorthernWinos (Mar 13, 2008)

Rinse in K-meta solution... didn't have a line for that option....

Throw away that solution as it often discolors from the corks even in a minute.


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## Bert (Mar 13, 2008)

Just following directions and not soaking seems to be working...


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## rgecaprock (Mar 13, 2008)

I will have to say I will never soak my corks at all 
again....I tried the humidor method. Maybe it is the houston climate but for a couple of batches I went to my humidor (as prescribed) all was fine. The last batch....nothing I can seewasany different in climate..but when I opened the humidor........the jolly green giant was alive and well.....the corks were covered...I mean...covered....totally green in mold. Did I do something wrong? Dumped them in the trash...luckily I had a fresh big bag of George's corks ready to use..just popped them in the corker......and Perfect!!!! Ramona*Edited by: rgecaprock *


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## Wade E (Mar 13, 2008)

What ratio of K-meta to water did you use? What size bucket and what size bottle inside did you use? When you open the tight lid does it knock you off your feet as it should?


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## Dean (Mar 14, 2008)

Wow, I didn't think anything could grow in a corkidor. I almost collapse in a coughing fit every time I open mine up. I use a VERY strong K-Meta solution in my little jar.


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## grapeman (Mar 14, 2008)

My guess as to what went wrong would be that your container wasn't sealing well. That allowed the k-meta to escape so there was no S02 vapor buildup in the bucket. After the S02 escaped, all there was left was a humid warm environment perfect for mold development. Be sure it seals well and there shouldn't be a problem. I prefer a good sealable bucket, not one of those plastic containers sold at the big box stores.


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## smurfe (Mar 14, 2008)

Northern Winos said:


> Rinse in K-meta solution... didn't have a line for that option....
> 
> Throw away that solution as it often discolors from the corks even in a minute.




Same here. Discoloration comes from the ink for the print on the corks. Only corksI soak which I rarely use are the 100% natural corks. The Agglomerate and synthetic corks do not need it at all due to their construction.


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## smurfe (Mar 14, 2008)

rgecaprock said:


> I will have to say I will never soak my corks at all
> again....I tried the humidor method. Maybe it is the houston climate but for a couple of batches I went to my humidor (as prescribed) all was fine. The last batch....nothing I can seewasany different in climate..but when I opened the humidor........the jolly green giant was alive and well.....the corks were covered...I mean...covered....totally green in mold. Did I do something wrong? Dumped them in the trash...luckily I had a fresh big bag of George's corks ready to use..just popped them in the corker......and Perfect!!!! Ramona




Ramona, I would guess your sulfite solution lost it's potency. I had the same thing happen to me once. I forgot to change the solution in the humidor.


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## rgecaprock (Mar 15, 2008)

Don't Laugh


But now that I'm thinking about it the last time I filled the corkidor I remember just putting water



in my little bottle I use. I don't know where my head was. Prior to that I used sulfite and all was fine. It was me who goofed.....Ramona


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## Wade E (Mar 15, 2008)

That will do it! OOOOPPPPPSSSSS!


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## bstnh1 (Apr 2, 2016)

I use a crockpot for a humidor - an inch or so of k-meta in the bottom and the corks in a plastic basket - seal top of crockpot with plastic wrap and let them sit for a week or so. I use the 1+1 A grade corks from www.widgetco.com about 48 cents each. Have always worked well for me for wines 4 - 5 years old.


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