# Cork life



## robie (Feb 2, 2010)

Some of the agglomerate corks that George sales (I'm sure agglomerate corks, in general) indicate they have a storage life of up to 2 years.

I am assuming the "storage life" is how long they should safely last in the bottle. Am I right or does it mean how long they can be stored away before placing them in a bottle?

If they are only good in a bottle for 2 years, I'm sure that will suffice for the vast majority of kit wine. However, what type of cork should one use, if planning on holding onto a bottle of wine for more than 2 years?

A while back I bought several bottles of Sonoma County - Benziger cab/sav, that were dated 1990. When I brought them home and layed them down on their side, some of them started leaking almost immediately. Apparently, they had been stored standing up. Shame too, the non-leaking bottles were outstanding.

I don't intend on keeping my bottles standing up and I don't intend on keeping any of my own wine for 10 years, but I would like to start out with the best solution or at least know what my alternatives are. 

A few days ago I read a recommendation for commercial barolo that said you should buy the wine and not even open it for another 10 years. Maybe kit barolo won't last that long but it certainly could last 4 or 5 years.


----------



## Goodfella (Feb 2, 2010)

Good thread Dancerman.


I have been wondering the same thing. I hope someone will tune in with some knowledge about this.


----------



## grapeman (Feb 2, 2010)

What you are reading dancerman is the relative life for that size. If you read the descriptions, you will see that the 1.5 inch corks are rated up to two years. The 1.75 inch are rated for more than two years. In other words if you want to store the wine longer than two years, it is safer to use the 1.75 inch corks for about $1 more per bag. They do go in with a hand corker harder and that is why some of us get the floor corkers- it just makes it easier to get the longer corks in. If you use the longer cork, you don't need to worry if the wine will still be good at 2 years and 1 day.


----------



## robie (Feb 2, 2010)

Thanks, Appleman.

I only have a hand corker, but I am not too worried about inconvenience, since I will never do more than a 30-bottle batch every other month or so. Will the hand corker work for this? Will the hand corker tend to destroy the longer corks more often than the floor corker will?


----------



## grapeman (Feb 2, 2010)

The floor corker will put them in full length every time. 


The hand corker CAN work well, but I never had good luck with it. The corks came out all different distances and some stuck out over a quarter inch.


You can buy a Portugese flooer corker for about $65 and that will work great.




http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=4042


----------



## robie (Feb 2, 2010)

I haven't tried any kind of corker, yet. George sure made the hand corker's utilization look easy on the DVD, which came with my original equipment order.

Maybe I better have some extra corks available the first time I use that hand corker... or any corker for that matter. 

We have a small home brew/wine shop nearby. They rent a really nice floor corker for $3 a day. I just might do that. It will be a while before I do much bottling, other than five or six 375 ml bottles per kit for sampling. I really believe bulk aging is the way I want to go.

Thanks again.


----------



## Goodfella (Feb 2, 2010)

3 dollars a day probably beats having to store one of your own. Sweet deal


----------



## Runningwolf (Feb 2, 2010)

3 bucks a day is a great deal for anyone that has limited space or funds. As far as your hand corker goes..run like hell and don't look back! Get that floor corker for the three dollars a day. Do a few bottles with the rented floor corker then try a couple with your hand corker then let us know what you think.


----------



## robie (Feb 2, 2010)

Will let you know.


----------



## xanxer82 (Feb 2, 2010)

What kind of hand corker did you use? Was it the orange plastic plunger type or the double lever Portuguese double lever corker.
We have two of the double lever and they work pretty well if you do it correctly.
If you're going to get a floor corker, the italian one costs more but is worth it because of the type of iris it uses. It's bronze instead of the nylon/plastic used on the Port floor corker.


----------



## robie (Feb 3, 2010)

It's the double-handled Portuguese corker that comes with George's deluxe starter kit.


----------



## admiral (Feb 3, 2010)

DancerMan, I use the Portuguese floor corker and I couldn't be happier. In fact, I have it mounted on a work bench in the winery so that eliminates some bending over. It has, from the first day, worked as smooth as silk and the only problems I have encountered were operator errors.


----------



## robie (Feb 3, 2010)

I figure my double-handled hand corker will work out OK for me. I doubt I'll ever be corking more than one 30-bottle kit per month. Of course as stated above, I haven't tried the corker, yet.

I figure I'll bulk age and only bottle when ready to drink. We drink about 4 to 5 bottles per week, so if I steadily make one kit per month, I'll have plenty of wine... after the aging catches up.

I know the wait will be long, but the time will pass.

You don't have to worry about me early drinking the amarone I just racked last evening, unless it changes really quickly. It was really bad tasting. It was my first kit, so I have no point of reference as to what it should taste like now. I hope it is OK; I can't imagine how I could have screwed it up.


----------



## ibglowin (Feb 3, 2010)

Couple of things.

Your gonna need more carboys for sure!

The Amarone should not taste bad, green perhaps but not what I would call bad. Perhaps its just you have never tasted green wine before so lets chalk that up to a first time experience.

I just stabilized my CC Chateau du pays last night and OMG that was tasting pretty darn good for some 3 week old wine. Hmmm perhaps I am starting to like the taste of green wine.


----------



## RJMehr (Feb 3, 2010)

DancerMan said:


> I figure my double-handled hand corker will work out OK for me.



Richard, a lot of us tried to make do with a double-handled hand corker but I can tell you from experience that you REALLY will want to purchase a floor model corker. The Portuguese floor corker works great and is only $60-70 at most dealers (George's price is $65.00).

My brother-in-law struggled for 3 years with the hand corker, When he came to visit recently, I showed just how easy the floor corkers work. He bought one the day he returned from his visit.

I now this is just my opinion but I can not think of any item I have purchased for wine making that I like more.

Robert


----------



## ibglowin (Feb 3, 2010)

+1


----------



## IQwine (Feb 3, 2010)

+2


----------



## robie (Feb 3, 2010)

When I get ready to bottle, I'll rent the local shop's floor corker, it's only $3 per day to rent it. I'll go ahead and try a couple of bottles with my hand corker... I'll probably find out real quickly why you recommend the floor corker.

A month ago I tried some 6 month old brunello and I recognized the green, acidic taste. My amarone had an even stronger acidic taste and I couldn't even swallow it. It is probably OK; it was definitely a green taste.


----------



## Runningwolf (Feb 3, 2010)

Richard, I already gave you my opinion and so did others. Do us and every other new person that joins this forum a favor. Rent the floor corker as I suggested for the three bucks and do half your bottles with the hand corker and the other half with the floor corker. Then please come back and post your results to this thread. In the future you will be able to refer newbies back to this thread when they are going through what you are right now. You'll be the man!!!!


----------



## cbw (Feb 3, 2010)

Dancerman ... it would be a GREAT idea if you PRACTICE corking wine bottles before bottling day ... particularly if you are planning on using a hand corker.

Buy a bag of 30 #9 corks ... fill 6 wine bottles with water ... and practice inserting the corks. Make sure you have the proper ullage (air space in the wine bottle) ...

I think if you practice inserting some #9 corks you'll find that renting that floor corker is a pretty good idea.

I also advise you to practice corking some water filled wine bottles with the floor corker before you have to do it for real on bottling day.

You want bottling day to go smoothly ... so practice, practice, practice (including practicing siphoning water from a carboy to your wine bottles ... are you going to use a bottling wand or just a clamp.

Remember, practice makes perfect ... and you'll be better serviced practicing with water ... not your beloved wine


----------



## Wade E (Feb 3, 2010)

I used the Port dble corker for 2 years and it works but I'll never go back to it! I have the Port floor corker now and if it ever breaks Ill drive 1000 miles if I have to to get a new one, oh wait a minute, I can just order it from george and have it sent to my door!




Seriously though, $3 a day aint bad but then there is gas, and wear and tear on your car and if for some reason you hit a deer on the eway there!


----------

