# Corker



## Brent2489 (Jul 30, 2010)

OK.....so if money was no object which corker would you buy??? I am tired of the cheap corker that came with my kit, purchased when I was unsure you really COULD make good; WAIT!!; make that GREAT wine at home.


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## Wade E (Jul 30, 2010)

Id go with the Italian floor corker but must say if you are watching your $ and on a budget the port is also very good and Ive had mine for about 5 years now and it still works great and I make a lot of wine!


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## ibglowin (Jul 30, 2010)

Italian if $$ is no object.

Portuguese for the rest of us!


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## Runningwolf (Jul 31, 2010)

The two posts are right on! I use the port.


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## Bert (Aug 1, 2010)

The Italian stands a little taller [less bending over to use it], but they both work great for a home wine maker.....I have the Italian model...over 6yrs. and no problems...


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## smokegrub (Aug 2, 2010)

Italian. One of the best investments I have made in wine-making.


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## fivebk (Aug 2, 2010)

I bought a bench mounted version of the Italian corker. I don't have to bend over at all and it works great!!

BOB


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## RJMehr (Aug 3, 2010)

I have both the Italian and the Portugese models. They both work very nicely. The Italian model is taller requiring less bending over. So, it just depends how big is your piggy bank today. 

Robert


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## Brent2489 (Aug 9, 2010)

Thanks for the comments. 
I think I will save up some extra $ and get the Italian.


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## tkutch (Aug 9, 2010)

I have had the port now for 7 years with no problems.


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## Brewgrrrl (Aug 10, 2010)

I got a gently used Italian kind on Craigslist for less than $40...


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## ibglowin (Aug 10, 2010)

Wow! Deal!


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## Wade E (Aug 10, 2010)

Now that is sweet!


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## Rocky (Apr 6, 2011)

I just got my Italian floor corker yesterday, assembled it and tried it out. It is the BEANS! I wonder if George would take back a hand corker that has never been used!


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## ArdenS (Apr 6, 2011)

When you say "it is the BEANS" are you referring to a new wine recipe? Sounds fascinating - get wasted &amp; have gas.


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## Flem (Apr 6, 2011)

I have a new Italian corker being delivered this week. I also have an unused hand corker.


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## ibglowin (Apr 6, 2011)

+3 on the unused unopened hand corker!

As Gwen Stefani says..... T"he Sh*t is BaNaNas!"


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## tonyt (Apr 6, 2011)

Darn, all along I ASSUMED I had the Italian one but now discover mine is Portuguese!!! I just figured since it was Farrari Red it must be Italian. My kids gave it to me . . . didn't they know I would only be making Italian wine?



BTW I love it, only thing is I have to put a brick under the 375ml bottles cause the platform will not go high enough for the small bottles. Does the Italian model do 375's?


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## Rocky (Apr 6, 2011)

Oh yeah, Tony. it does all sizes. But the major advantage is that the iris is made of brass rather than nylon. It would probably last longer for a high volume operation.


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## ibglowin (Apr 6, 2011)

I have the Porto Floor Corker and do 375's every time I bottle. Never had a problem and I don't use a brick!


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## tonyt (Apr 6, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> I have the Porto Floor Corker and do 375's every time I bottle. Never had a problem and I don't use a brick!



As Artie Johnson said . . . Veddy Intedesting. I'll have to see what I am doing wrong when I get home. OR do I have a cheap Chinese impostor?


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## Rocky (Apr 6, 2011)

Mike, do you have a hole in your floor?







What do people do with 375 ml bottles? Is that just for whatever is left over? I guess a case would be 24 bottles, right? Only place I have ever seen them used is on an airline.


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## Runningwolf (Apr 6, 2011)

I also hear stories about not being able to do ice wine bottles and the regular 375's. I do them all with no problem. Thursday I'll be bottling 21 gallons with my port corker all in 375's and ice wine bottles.


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## ibglowin (Apr 6, 2011)

375's are perfect for opening first on a new kit. Why open (and possibly waste a full bottle) when you can bottle a few splits to open first as testers.

I also plan on bottling ALL 8 gallons of my La Bodega Port in 375 bottles (both regular and some Ice Wine).

The 375's are the perfect size for after dinner sipping for 2.



Rocky said:


> What do people do with 375 ml bottles? Is that just for whatever is left over?


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## tonyt (Apr 6, 2011)

Rocky said:


> What do people do with 375 ml bottles? Is that just for whatever is left over? I guess a case would be 24 bottles, right? Only place I have ever seen them used is on an airline.



I usually bottle 10 375's and 25 750's with each batch. The 350's have two good uses for me. One, I can sample a small bottle every month or so when I think the wine should be ready. Also they are perfect for my wife and I on week day nights like tonight. 72 degrees, Azaleas in full bloom, Hummingbirds darting around and one glass each of something red and Italian. Montepulciano perhaps.


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## ibglowin (Apr 6, 2011)

The 375's on the right were bottled with my Port Floor Corker. No brick, just put the bottle in the spring loaded lifting stand and release, put the cork in the Iris and pull the lever.

Done!

No adjustments required.


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## Runningwolf (Apr 6, 2011)

I used 375's for my jalapeno wine. Also using then tomorrow for cherry/chocolate wine. Will use ice wine bottles for the port and ice wine.


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## Rocky (Apr 6, 2011)

Wow, I have learned a lot about 375 ml bottles. They seem to be used for specialty wines and ice wine (which I don't do) and trials. I guess I drink too much.


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## tonyt (Apr 6, 2011)

so, my corker is Portuguese but the platform must have a shorter stem than y'alls. In the picture you really can't see but there is about a 1/2 inch gap between the top of the bottle and the jaws. The platform is extended as tall as it will go. I still can't imagine doing without it though.


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## Rocky (Apr 7, 2011)

Tony, 
I believe that George addresses this in his video and suggests putting a block of wood on the platform and under the bottle to raise it sufficiently to work. From what you say, a chunk of 2 x 4 should work just fine. If you really want to get fancy, you could carve out part of the wood to fit the bottom of the bottle and avoid slipping.


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## ibglowin (Apr 7, 2011)

Hey Tony,

Can't you just unscrew the platform a few revolutions and raise the top end till the 375 fits snugly into the iris?


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## PeterZ (Apr 7, 2011)

A 6" piece of 2x4 works for me. No adjustments necessary.


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## ibglowin (Apr 7, 2011)

Works for me to!


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## Runningwolf (Apr 7, 2011)

Mike, I don't see where you can make any adjustments. I have no problem doing the small 375"s just the way it is with no blocks.
Tony does your's have 2 or 3 screws on the top. The old ones had three and the new ones have two. Mine has two.


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## ibglowin (Apr 7, 2011)

I don't either, just like you. I was trying to figure out what could be different between ours and his. Just seems strange that ours works w/o any mods


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## tonyt (Apr 7, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> Hey Tony,
> 
> 
> 
> Can't you just unscrew the platform a few revolutions and raise the top end till the 375 fits snugly into the iris?


It's all the way out.


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## tonyt (Apr 7, 2011)

runningwolf said:


> Mike, I don't see where you can make any adjustments. I have no problem doing the small 375"s just the way it is with no blocks.
> Tony does your's have 2 or 3 screws on the top. The old ones had three and the new ones have two. Mine has two.


I'll check that tonight. As you say there must be a difference in the old and new models. Mine is about 2.5 years old plus time on shelf at the store.


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## Wade E (Apr 7, 2011)

I cant do some of the shorter 375's on mine without putting a 3/4" pce of wood on my pedestal either.


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## tonyt (Apr 7, 2011)

runningwolf said:


> Mike, I don't see where you can make any adjustments. I have no problem doing the small 375"s just the way it is with no blocks.
> Tony does your's have 2 or 3 screws on the top. The old ones had three and the new ones have two. Mine has two.



You nailed it. Mine has three screws (older model). At least I know I'm not nuts.



Case closed.


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## Flem (Apr 7, 2011)

Tony, Two screws or three screws have nothing to do with whether or not you're nuts. LOL


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## ibglowin (Apr 7, 2011)

Mine has 2 screws.......

Here is the proof that the 375's fit w/o any assistance.


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## Rocky (Apr 7, 2011)

Mike, 
You obviously make a lot of wine and I assume that you have bottled a great deal. How is the nylon (or whatever material it is) iris holding up? That was the essence of my decision to go with the Italian model (brass iris). Also, from my manufacturing experience, make sure the nylon does not dry out. It is notorious for cracking when it does.
I probably did not need to buy the more expensive model, but I take after my Father. He was famous for over doing any construction or over buying (the bigger is better theory). We used to say if he were an inventor, he would have designed an atomic hand grenade. He would just have to find someone dumb enough to throw it.


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## Rocky (Apr 7, 2011)

BTW Mike, I notice you have a Louis Martini _Cabernet Sauvignon_case in the background. That is one ofour favorite Cabs, reasonably priced (it is about $14 a bottle here), good taste. We use that a lot.


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## Wade E (Apr 7, 2011)

Yep, that is a newer model then mine. I made a wooden hockey puck to do the very small 375's. Most still work but there are squat ones and the 175's that need the puck!


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## tonyt (Apr 7, 2011)

Flem said:


> Tony, Two screws or three screws have nothing to do with whether or not you're nuts. LOL



True, but I also checked all three screws and they are all on tight. So at least I know I don't have a screw loose. Sorry, I couldn't pass that up.


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## Dean (Apr 8, 2011)

I've got 3 floor corkers, and the plastic iris ones (2 Portuguese)are over 8 years old and still work as new. The only thing they get once per year is a bit of food grade lubricant, same as my brass iris corker (Italian). They've all done 1000s of corks. I prefer the brass iris as it works better on synthetic corks. The plastic iris corkers tend to crimp the synthetics, while the brass ones don't. At least with SupremeCorc and Nomacorc brands.

The Italian one is also a little taller and better built, so that's the one I use most often now.


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## ibglowin (Apr 8, 2011)

Bought it new and I have probably bottled 20 kits with it so thats ~ 600 bottles. The iris looks brand new. I just purchased 1000 custom corks that are 1+1 agglomerate. I have heard that this corker could potentially damage a cork like that so we will see. Hope not. Like I said the iris looks new and feels new (smooth, no scratches) still.



Rocky said:


> Mike,
> You obviously make a lot of wine and I assume that you have bottled a great deal. How is the nylon (or whatever material it is) iris holding up? That was the essence of my decision to go with the Italian model (brass iris). Also, from my manufacturing experience, make sure the nylon does not dry out. It is notorious for cracking when it does.
> I probably did not need to buy the more expensive model, but I take after my Father. He was famous for over doing any construction or over buying (the bigger is better theory). We used to say if he were an inventor, he would have designed an atomic hand grenade. He would just have to find someone dumb enough to throw it.


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## ibglowin (Apr 8, 2011)

Yea, love that one as well as Rodney Strong, We have some good friends that supply me with cases of empties of both of those (very nice bottles). Both are excellent CA Cab's.







Rocky said:


> BTW Mike, I notice you have a Louis Martini _Cabernet Sauvignon_ case in the background. That is one of our favorite Cabs, reasonably priced (it is about $14 a bottle here), good taste. We use that a lot.


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## Rocky (Apr 8, 2011)

Mike, 


How did you edit your response? When you first responded, it said _Charles Krug_ and now it says _Rodney Strong_. Once you lauch a reply, how do you get it back to edit it? Just wondering and trying to better understand this forum. Thanks.


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## grapeman (Apr 8, 2011)

Rocky look under your gignature line of the post. There are a few buttons there, saying edit, delete and others you may not have. If you want to change it a bit, just push the edit button and it brings your post back up to change. When done click the save or update post.


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## ibglowin (Apr 8, 2011)

Yep, what Rich said. Once I posted I realized I got the name wrong and changed it.


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## Brent2489 (Apr 9, 2011)

Hi all,
Ok so I sprung for the big $ and boy am I glad. I have done about 7 kits since buying the corker and my back no longer hurts when corking!!!

Here is the corker...






If you look closely you will see that I had to make a slight modification to the feet. I bottle in a room (my wine nook) that has wood floors. If I were to scratch or dent the floor there would be hell to pay.

I took a quick trip to Lowe's and bought some Schedule 40 PVC caps. They did not have any 'end caps' so I had to get 1.5" pipe to 0.5" thread. I also picked up a couple of tubes of 5 minute epoxy.






I drilled a 3/16" hole thru the bottom of the legs to make sure I got a good contact and prevent the foot from coming off of the corker. I also put a small piece of tape over the inside of the 0.5" threaded part to prevent epoxy from leaking all over the garage.











Looking forward to MANY more batches of wine from this corker!!!!!!!


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## Wade E (Apr 9, 2011)

Isnt there any rubber feet for the legs?


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## Randoneur (Apr 9, 2011)

You could cover the bottom of those with felt.


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## Runningwolf (Apr 9, 2011)

When I saw the first picture I thought they were rubber feet. Know they are pvcI would still be concerned about the floor.I would suggest putting a small carpet remnant under it to protect the floor. Great machine!.


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## Brent2489 (Apr 9, 2011)

Nope, no rubber feet!!! Been thinking about felt or some rubber but haven't gotten around to it (been too busy skiing). Have not yet scratched floor!


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## Rocky (Apr 9, 2011)

I was a little disappointed that there were no rubber feet on the corker when I got it. I use it on a concrete floor, so I am not concerned about scratches but it would be nice to have the rubber to prevent slipping.I had one in the past that was a better design as it was made from formed iron bar stock rather than tubular steel. I am not crazy about the two piece handle. It is kind of "whimpy" but I suppose it was an accommodation to partial assembly and packaging. My previous corker had a one piece handle. I am thinking of drilling an additional hole to mount the handle and take the "play" out of if. And, yes, I am a tinkerer.


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