# Leaky cork?



## Francie (Dec 30, 2006)

Just curious to see if anyone has ever experienced this with the cork. We bottled using the floor corker and thought everything was okay, until we layed the bottles to their side and noticed this after about two days.









Not sure if you can see the "purple blood" from the wine or not.


Bad corks? Just got them two months ago. 


Francie


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## pkcook (Dec 30, 2006)

Francie,


How long did you leave the bottles standing upright before laying them on their side? I think the recommended time is 3 days to allow the corks to seal to the neck of the bottle.


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## masta (Dec 30, 2006)

A few questions:
What cork are they?


Can't really tell from the picture but is the wine seeping through the cork or between the cork and the neck of the bottle?


How did you prepare the corks?


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## Francie (Dec 30, 2006)

Well, we let the bottles stand upright for about four to five days. We took the corks out of the sealed bag, and did nothing to prepare them, just put them in the corker. The wine is not coming from the outer edges (which would make me think they did not seal properly), but rather inside---like in the middle. the corks are the longer ones, not sure of the brand. I did just order the MM Amarone from George and added corks as well!! Luckily it is only happening to three or four bottles, but still....that is three to four bottles!!!


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## Wade E (Dec 30, 2006)

That is really weird! Is that the dot in the middle of the cork in the picture?


*Edited by: wade *


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## grapeman (Dec 30, 2006)

I have had a few bottles do this from time to time. I have found it seems to be in batches that I didn't get 100% CO2 out of or they started to work a little again(1 small batch of blueberry). I figured there was a little pressure that forced the wine out. Keep an eye on them and make sure the cork doesn't start to push out. If they seem stable(still) and still seep, you can get some bottle wax to seal the top. This stops the seepage. If you don't you will notice the ooze gets very sticky and could be a possible source of contamination if it got back in where it came out. I haven't lost any from the seepage but did have two bottles blow their corks from the blueberry batch. I refrigrated the others left stopping any further malolactic ferment and they are stable now.


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## Waldo (Dec 30, 2006)

I have never seen anything like that but I did have a friend of mine I gave some wine to for Christmas told me yesterday that his wife went to open one of the bottles ( Green Apple Reisling) and the whole top of the bottle just exploded. This has been in the bottle for about 8 months now and none of the other bottles from that batch have exhibited any problems. Was it just a bad bottle?


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## Wade E (Dec 30, 2006)

Just tell her that the wine is so good we all call it the BOMB!



Sorry about that!


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## NorthernWinos (Dec 30, 2006)

Waldo said:


> I have never seen anything like that but I did have a friend of mine I gave some wine to for Christmas told me yesterday that his wife went to open one of the bottles ( Green Apple Reisling) and the whole top of the bottle just exploded. This has been in the bottle for about 8 months now and none of the other bottles from that batch have exhibited any problems. Was it just a bad bottle?



I would ask them what kind of a corkscrew they used too...just a thought.

We have only ever had one bottle break, and it was a beer batch...we did a few bottles in brown one quart snap top bottles...I walked in to the root/wine cellar and could smell something good, like bread. The bottom of that snap top bottle was separated from the top of the bottle...I'd say it was a bad bottle,or cracked around the bottom.... because non of our beers or wines have ever done that....sure was messy.


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## Bert (Dec 30, 2006)

I have seen this on a few of my bottles...the corks were not from Fine Vine Wines....but I was thinking I was maybe over filling the bottles. I had no trouble with corks coming out, but an occasional weeper.



I try not to fill the bottles as full and have been using FVW corks with no problem.


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## geocorn (Dec 30, 2006)

This why I sell the corks I do. Not all corks are alike. I have sold over 250,000 of my corks and I have only had one occassion where they leaked. In this case, the wine maker soaked the corks overnight and used a fishing line to make sure all of the gas escaped. The leaking was due to the fishing line leaving a ridge in the cork. The ridge was caused due to the corks being soft from the overnight soaking. As a result, I still claim that my corks do not leak.


I might also add that I have several customers that all they buy from me aremy corks. They buy their other supplies from my competition, but I am their source for corks.


The one complaint I have had is that they can be difficult to remove. I have asked my supplier to increase the coating which should help. On the other hand, I have learned a little trick. Use a knife to score around the top of the cork where the cork and bottle meet. For some reason this breaks the seal and allows the cork to be removed much easier.


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