Corking Question

[timothyg]

So I corked my first batch Saturday 8/6/11, however I wasn't paying too much attention while corking and today I realized that the 1.5 inch corks are sticking out about .5 inches (I forgot to adjust my Portuguese floor corker). I was diligent enough to have a space of no more then 1 inch between the bottom of the cork and the top of the wine.

Currently the wine bottles are sitting up for the next 48 hours until I put them side-ways. So what should I do?

a) nothing - the corks and wine will be fine.
b) push down on the corks so they are flush with the top of the bottle; this would leave a space of .5 inches between the bottom of the cork and the top of the wine (by the way would doing this be bad, since the corks may have already formed?). I kind of did this for a few bottles as an experiment, should I revert/re-cork?
c) re-cork all the bottles correctly?
d) ?

Thanks.

 

[Arne]

This is my opinion only. If it was me, I would shove em on down if they will still go. If not, recork time. Arne.

 

[Dugger]

How long do you think this wine will last - will it be gone in less than a year? If so, and you don't mind the way they look, you could leave them as is ( cut the excess cork off if you wish). If you plan on keeping some for awhile or giving some away, you should recork those, preferably with 1 3/4 " # 9 corks.

 

[Tom]

Adjust the corker and reinsert the bottle push them in

 

[Daisy317]

I'd probably try to push them in further too.

 

[timothyg]

Okay - so I had 25 750ml and 10 375ml. I pushed in all of the 750ml bottles and they look decent, the 375ml are too tight and it is difficult to push them in; however the 375ml are solely for my wife and my consumption, so I really don't care. My major concern was "proper storage".

Yeah - since this was my 1st kit I got a $38 Amazon Vino Italiano Riesling kit that came with corks (I bet they were 1 3/4" #9). I wanted to do a super cheap kit just in case there are any issues (such as this). Everything else seemed to go smoothly. It actually tastes good and is simple and drinkable.

I have a Wine Expert Vintners Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ready to bottle in a few days and I'm primary fermenting a Wine Expert Select International Australian Chardonnay now as well. So hopefully no hiccups with these .

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Javila]

I have had some corks not get seated flush with the bottle top. I do a little woodworking and found out u could get a wood clamp (Irwin) that will push the cork flush. On some of these I had to leave the clamp on overnite because the internal pressure kept pushing it back out but after a day or two the pressure equalizes and cork stays !

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!

I would definitely adjust the floor corker and insert further.

 

[robie]

I have had some corks not get seated flush with the bottle top. I do a little woodworking and found out u could get a wood clamp (Irwin) that will push the cork flush. On some of these I had to leave the clamp on overnite because the internal pressure kept pushing it back out but after a day or two the pressure equalizes and cork stays !

If the pressure kept pushing the corks back up, it sounds like maybe you don't have enough space between the bottom of a properly inserted cork and the wine. The space should be about the size of two of your fingers side-by-side.

If you don't have close to that amount of space, and the wine warms up some, it will likely push the corks up again.

 

[Tom]

I have had some corks not get seated flush with the bottle top. I do a little woodworking and found out u could get a wood clamp (Irwin) that will push the cork flush. On some of these I had to leave the clamp on overnite because the internal pressure kept pushing it back out but after a day or two the pressure equalizes and cork stays !

If they are being forced out it sounds like you needed to degas more before bottling.

 

[timothyg]

If the pressure kept pushing the corks back up, it sounds like maybe you don't have enough space between the bottom of a properly inserted cork and the wine. The space should be about the size of two of your fingers side-by-side.

If you don't have close to that amount of space, and the wine warms up some, it will likely push the corks up again.

Interesting, for some reason I was thinking that the space between the cork and wine should be at most 1 inch, however due to temperature increases it seems like a distance of .5 inches, as an example, could be insufficient due to the wine expanding more then .5 inches.

A quick google search provides awri . com . au/industry_support/winemaking_resources/frequently_asked_questions/notes/TN07.pdf . Therefore roughly a 9 degree F change in temperature can cause a 1.2ml volume increase. So a cork's volume is about 12.68 ml (0.773 in^3).

Therefore I need about half an inch (1 finger) of space between the cork and wine if the temperature increase about 27 degrees.

 

[Javila]

If the pressure kept pushing the corks back up, it sounds like maybe you don't have enough space between the bottom of a properly inserted cork and the wine. The space should be about the size of two of your fingers side-by-side.

If you don't have close to that amount of space, and the wine warms up some, it will likely push the corks up again.

Hmmm, kinda makes sense, good safety tip, thanku. Will have watch the spacing better.