A year in!

[sour_grapes]

Black Currant is a very tart juice ( I was introduced to it at the East Berlin Museum in 1971 - We thought it was alcoholic but it was just very tart)

Now I mostly want to know what you were doing in East Berlin in 1971? I have a scary story from East Germany in 1972...

 

[Sunshine Wine]

Yes, I got it second hand from someone on here. I may check to see if there is a wine shop around Knoxville and take it to them or if they know someone who might be able to adjust it. The pineapple mango sounds yummy!! How much of each would I get if I were to make 4 gallons? Do I add any sugar in the beginning? Will have to purchase another hydrometer as I broke mine right after I finished needing it! Lol... Thanks for all your help!!

 

[Scooter68]

Sour - I was with a Church "Mission Group" and we toured the museum. The city was a drab drab place and the comparision to West Berlin could not have been more stark. The museum was really interesting - a lot of Egyptian Artifacts. (Most I think have been returned to Egypt now.) We were warned to be very careful if we got on the "S Bahn" because it went under the wall to a couple of stops in the East. That was the extent of it. DM me your story sometime. Interesting to hear about folks who lived/experienced the divided Germany that kids today have not concept about.

Sorry Sunshine for the Hijack of your thread. I do think the corker is in need of help and probably can be fixed with some tinkering.

As to Pineapple mango - I'll repost here a little later when I get my wine record book from the other house (Winerey.)

 

[Sunshine Wine]

Ordered a wine rack from Amazon! Perfect!!

 

[Rembee]

That's a really nice rack!

 

[Sunshine Wine]

That's a really nice rack!

Haha...thanks!!

 

[Rembee]

No pund intended lol. Is that the bamboo wooden rack?

 

[Sunshine Wine]

No pund intended lol. Is that the bamboo wooden rack?

No worries! Yes, it sure is! It's perfect for the amount of wine bottles I have.

 

[Rembee]

No worries! Yes, it sure is! It's perfect for the amount of wine bottles I have.

So are those the bottles that gave you so much grief?
If they are, looks like the corks are holding up well. No leaks huh?

 

[Bossbaby]

very nice, there is so much space there for more wine better start another batch!

 

[Sunshine Wine]

So are those the bottles that gave you so much grief?
If they are, looks like the corks are holding up well. No leaks huh?

Yes, those are the bottles that the corks are wonky in. They all sealed and there have been no leaks so far. I had to get rid of about 10 of the empty bottles, so my husband drank a half gallon over the last few weeks. I still have one whole gallon in a glass jar with an air lock on it...lol. The corks not going in right have disappointed me, but it is what it is. The corker was free and it looks like it was well used before I got it, so I'm not sure if it's worth having it looked at...

 

[Sunshine Wine]

You know, I can't do much better than my first try! Juice was free, bottles were free, corker was free, bottle drying rack was free....all I had to do was buy the fermenting supplies, some buckets, a carboy, and the other hardware items. It sure has been an experience. I'm lucky it even turned out!! Lol. Thanks for everyone's help! Not sure if I will do more wine...kind of nervous about doing it again. I've learned a lot, but there's a lot I still don't know. There are a lot of equipment items I don't have. Doing it this fairly simple way has been great.

 

[hounddawg]

oh, don't give up now, it really does get easier,,,
Dawg

 

[Rembee]

I agree with Dawg, don't give up! It truly does get easier.
This is a youtube link to show you how to change out the jaws on your corker. Just in case you decide to continue on your wine journey.

If you do decide that wine making is not for you then I wish you all the best!

 

[Sunshine Wine]

I agree with Dawg, don't give up! It truly does get easier.
This is a youtube link to show you how to change out the jaws on your corker. Just in case you decide to continue on your wine journey.

If you do decide that wine making is not for you then I wish you all the best!

Thanks! Will check it out and see if I can fix it!

 

[Scooter68]

The three things I can think of that might cause that are:
1) Jaws not compressing the corks properly
2) Corks not lined up with bottle opening
3) The bottle stand is moving down as the cork is pushed into the bottle OR The stand the bottle sits on not being adjusted up high enough.

From the look of those corks I would almost bet that it's primarily caused by number 3 above.

There shouldn't be any light showing between the top of the bottle and the underside of the corker head. I'm attaching a link to a YouTube video showing a corker with an adjustable bottle stand. The important part is that as that cork is pushed into the bottle, that bottle cannot move down , the stand has to lock into the correct height or the cork will pop out to the side like yours seem to have done.

My corker works a little different. On mine the bottle rests on pad that does not move up or down but corker head does move and as I cork a bottle I use on hand to hold the head down and the other to operate the cork plunger. I can lock the head at a specific height but I just prefer to use the second handle.

In both types of operation, there should be virtually no space between the bottle top and the corker head.

By no means am I an expert on this but it seems to me that the corks are popping out because of an incorrect operation of the bottle stand. IF your corker has a moving head as mine does, then the head has to remain right there pretty much resting on the top of the bottle but not applying pressure on the bottle.



More Common Floor corker ----------------------- Italian Table Top Corker (This is what I have)
Table Top Italian Corker

 

[NoQuarter]

Other than your corking experience everything seemed to work out. By getting some age on those bottles you should have something to be proud of.
I only make about 24-36 gallons most years and I have only used a cheap Portugal corker from amazon. Under 20 bucks and after soaking my corks for a minute or two in star-san solution, # 8 corks go right in. The experts on this site prefer #9 corks and floor corkers but I don't keep any wine for more than 4-5 years and never had any problems doing 30 bottles at a time.

 

[Old Corker]

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this thread. I don't do sweet wine so the recipe part of the discussion was only passing interest to me but the rest was informative and interesting. A great example of the best of this forum. @Sunshine Wine to have started this on a whim, ending up where you did was a fantastic result IMO. I hope you don't leave it as you may have a bright future in home wine making.
Good luck!

 

[mainshipfred]

You know, I can't do much better than my first try! Juice was free, bottles were free, corker was free, bottle drying rack was free....all I had to do was buy the fermenting supplies, some buckets, a carboy, and the other hardware items. It sure has been an experience. I'm lucky it even turned out!! Lol. Thanks for everyone's help! Not sure if I will do more wine...kind of nervous about doing it again. I've learned a lot, but there's a lot I still don't know. There are a lot of equipment items I don't have. Doing it this fairly simple way has been great.

Quitter, don't be like that, your posts are very interesting. I enjoy reading them and the responses you get.

 

[Sunshine Wine]

Quitter, don't be like that, your posts are very interesting. I enjoy reading them and the responses you get.

Haha....don't think I'll quit, but just have to see what comes my way next!!