Skip the corks, use poly seal caps, the bottles are a little more but the caps seal better than cork and are more convenient to use. I started using them three years ago and they work great.
WineXpert Corks and aging
- Thread starter Handy Turnip
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
I use Italian floor corker with Nomacors. Works perfectly. It leaves very small indentation.
GaDawg
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2012
- Messages
- 1,462
- Reaction score
- 2,022
I’ve been using Portuguese floor corker with them for about 7 years without a problem.
Handy Turnip
Member
So the noma corks arrived and I had a few bottles that needed recorking. Having only used natural corks, I found them a bit strange.
A few creased ones, which when I pulled out were a bit of a mess. I got in a bit of a rhythm so am hoping they'll be okay. Big indentation on the top of all of them. I'm using a Portuguese floor corker so it maybe that.
Must admit, if I hadn't heard such good things about them then I'd be convinced they were poor quality.
I've also got some natural #9s on order, which should be due any day now. Be interesting to see how I get on with those.
A few creased ones, which when I pulled out were a bit of a mess. I got in a bit of a rhythm so am hoping they'll be okay. Big indentation on the top of all of them. I'm using a Portuguese floor corker so it maybe that.
Must admit, if I hadn't heard such good things about them then I'd be convinced they were poor quality.
I've also got some natural #9s on order, which should be due any day now. Be interesting to see how I get on with those.
My Italian corker dents 'em as well. I find the dent mostly fades with time. The jaws also mark the a side with a light crease. I believe I've had 2 leak out of about 1,000 bottles, so my track record is better than with natural corks.
If you look at commercial bottles, Nomacorc has a significant chunk of the market. AFAIK, they are doing well.
Handy Turnip
Member
Fingers crossed! I'm not worried about leaking, as my #8's didn't leak so these should be fine. Just keen for the wine to last beyond 18mths, so it'll be a while before I find out if they've done the job.
I've got a bag of 100, and will only use them on about 5-10 in a batch (as we get through the majority of the batch in well under a year) so they should last a while
![[Upgraded] 9Pcs Tree Root Growing Box with Drain Holes, Half Transparent Plant Rooting Propagation Ball & Metal Core Twist Ties, for Fast Propagation Plants (Size M)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/514MWQxtWOL._SL500_.jpg)
The Select 900's (ones commonly sold) are rated for 5 years. I have them in for 4 years, and everything is looking good so far.
Kross
Member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2021
- Messages
- 77
- Reaction score
- 65
Where is the best place to purchase these corks?
I buy in bulk (~500) from my LHBS, and I've purchased from established stores via Amazon.
Handy Turnip
Member
Recorked a couple of nice whites today with the nomas so hopefully they last a bit longer. Normally I store them upright for a couple of days to let the corks expand, and then add shrink caps and then store on their side. Do I need to do that with the nomas, or do they not need to be stored upright for a few days?
Must admit I'm not finding them that easy - I could get my natural corks to be flush with the bottle top first time every time, but it takes me several goes (and corks) with the nomas. At times, the outer part of the cork is sticking out the bottle, while the indent in the cork (from the corker) is up to half a cm into the bottle. It looks a little strange.
Must admit I'm not finding them that easy - I could get my natural corks to be flush with the bottle top first time every time, but it takes me several goes (and corks) with the nomas. At times, the outer part of the cork is sticking out the bottle, while the indent in the cork (from the corker) is up to half a cm into the bottle. It looks a little strange.
I stand them up for a few days. The issue of pressure inside the bottle equalizing is the same, regardless of cork type.
This might be the dumb question of the month but ....... with the Normacorc can I go between standing my bottles up and laying them down? Back / forth or pick a lane?
Not a dumb question. Given that I figure a short answer is going to just produce more questions, here's the long story:
During corking, the bit of air remaining in the bottle is compressed as the cork seals the bottle and then pushes in. We stand the bottles up for a few days while the pressure equalizes, e.g., the air pushes out around the cork. If the bottle is laying down during this time, it can push wine out.
Natural corks will dry out and leak if the cork is not kept moist, so the bottles are laid on their sides. This is not a quick process, but the corks also degrade over time regardless of situation. Older corks and/or lower quality corks degrade faster than newer ones. IME it takes months or even years for a cork to dry out enough to leak (in or out). I don't know of any time table -- lay 'em on their side within a month of bottling and there's no problem.
Nomacorcs don't dry out. I've left a bottle standing upright for a year or so and experienced no problems with it. Based upon that, you can do anything you want with bottle orientation. I lay mine on their sides or stand upside down in a case, because that's what I've always done. Doing anything just feels wrong, even though I know it's not a problem.
The commonly available Nomacorcs appear to be the Select 900. I figured that out more as a process of elimination, as there is no part # or description. The Nomacorc company and its distributor are not well organized, nor consistent, and their web sites are out of date.
Anywho, the Select 900 are vendor rated for 5 years. I trust that figure as selling bad corks commercially is suicide for a cork company. Lawsuits because of bad corks start in the millions of dollars, so large vendors will be careful of what they claim. I figure the corks are good for 2 years beyond that, as a smart vendor will undersell to avoid said lawsuits.
I've been using Nomacorc for 4 years, probably 1,000 bottles, and had problems with 5. When I approach the 7 year mark with any remaining bottles from a batch, I'll probably re-cork.
Last edited:
Bryan ... congrats! That is great information to someone like "me". It re-enforces my decision to go Norcacorcs.
Hi,
This is my first year in winemaking and I am about to bottle my wine, I live in Turkey and went to a Winemaker shop here to purchase corks, I purchased 100 agglomerated wine corks but I was told that these are very cheap ones and won't last more than a year I always had the belief that collated corks are the best one but reading the forum I realized that people tend to use synthetic corks which are called "Nomacorcs Select 900" I was told to look for Diam 5 or twin top corks, so why people use synthetic corks over natural ones what are the downsides and adventages of using these corks ? I always believed that synthetic corks are of bad quality but I believe I was wrong after reading this thread.
This is my first year in winemaking and I am about to bottle my wine, I live in Turkey and went to a Winemaker shop here to purchase corks, I purchased 100 agglomerated wine corks but I was told that these are very cheap ones and won't last more than a year I always had the belief that collated corks are the best one but reading the forum I realized that people tend to use synthetic corks which are called "Nomacorcs Select 900" I was told to look for Diam 5 or twin top corks, so why people use synthetic corks over natural ones what are the downsides and adventages of using these corks ? I always believed that synthetic corks are of bad quality but I believe I was wrong after reading this thread.
Are these "Nomacorcs Select 900 " corks ?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064GWTJE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2KQZXNM4Q71FY&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064GWTJE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2KQZXNM4Q71FY&psc=1
I switched to Nomacorc to solve a particular problem -- due to my cellar conditions, I often get mold growing on the outside of the corks natural corks. That doesn't happen with Nomacorc.
Advantages? They are very consistent, my incidence of leaking bottles is currently 5 in 1,000 corks. The corks do not need to be kept wet, so the bottles can be stood up.
The advertised lifespan of the Select 900 is 5 years, and for liability reasons I suspect the safe lifespan is closer to 7 years (this is a hopefully educated guess on my part).
Disadvantages? They're more expensive than regular corks. Some people have reported floor corkers crease the corks and they get leaks. They are not as easy to insert using double-lever corkers, and I'd not try with a corker that's lower end than that.
The ones you listed from Amazon are the Select 900, as near as I can tell. That is the type I use. I've been using them since 2018 and have no intention to change.
Regarding the corks you have, you need to read reviews for that exact brand. Be cautious accepting opinions unless they are experience and/or fact based. Also be cautious of listening to LHBS personnel -- some really know their stuff, and some really don't. It's hard to tell which is which, sometimes.
Thank you very much for your detailed answer, I have some question that want to ask, first as I live in Turkey, it will take some time for the corks to arrive here, my wine is sitting in SS tank, would it be a problem if I bottle it lets say at the end of June or mid July ? ( reason asking is that I will wait for the corks to arrive)
Here what I can find is two options, there are cheap agglomerated corks and better Ferrari brands, but I do not know how good they are
https://www.ferrarigroup.com/en/prodotto/supertech-agglomerated-cork-stoppers-2/
Also there is synthetic ones from ferrari
https://www.ferrarigroup.com/en/prodotto/cork-like-synthetic-caps/
But after I read your comments I decided to purchase nomacorc select 900 where can I purchase it as far as I can see there are fake ones as well, but my main question is would it be ok if I bottle my wine in mid July ? Thanks a lot
What wine do you have in production, when did you start it, and what is the current SG?
I generally bottle whites and light reds in 4 to 6 months, mid-range reds in 6 to 9 months, and heavy reds in 9 to 12+ months. This is a rough guideline -- many factors may determine when I bottle, including personal time.
If your wine is aging in SS with minimal headspace and a proper dosage of K-meta, waiting another month or so should not be an issue.
An important question is how long are you intending to bottle age? If you're looking short term, less than 2 years, the corks you have are probably fine.
