Could i just hammer in a short cork screw?

[akbar67]

Hello, I am a beginner who lives in a country where wine-making equipment is not readily available. I have not been able to find long cork screws or a device to push them into the bottle.
After a lot of driving around, what I've found so far is 2-liter bottles with a short cork screw. Please see pics. The cork screw is about an inch or 25mm high. The opening of the bottle also about an inch.
My questions: could I just sufficient airtightness by just hammering the cork screw in? And does the corkscrew seem like of adequate type and quality? I plan to store the wine in such bottles for a few years.
Many thanks for your attion.
I apologize in advance for your ignorance and questions that might seem asinine to you. I am just trying to make do with what I can find. The only other option would be to store in screw top plastic water bottles (which is what 99% of everyone else here does) which I am trying to avoid.

thanks for your attention.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Welcome to Wine Making Talk.

this cork is something you would have to try and report back. From the US point of view a #9 straight cork is available so this is the standard. Nomacork/ synthetic also exists. A natural cork has two functions. 1) contain the liquid and 2) allow about 5mg oxygen per year in to react with tannins ( create smooth flavor). ,,, Your available cork is short so oxygen control probably is poor. A traditional way to improve the barrier is to dip the cork in wax.

The US food industry uses lots of plastics. I would wonder if you could accomplish the moisture barrier with stretchy silicone plumbing tape and then add 3cm of aluminum foil over that to increase the oxygen barrier. In essence copying what an aluminum screw cap does. ,,, A side benefit of modern caps / plastic corks is that bottles can stand upright since the cork doesn’t need to be kept wet.

 

[akbar67]

@Rice_Guy wow. Many thanks.
I had idea corks are supposed to let in a bit of oxygen too. So, if I understand you correctly, because my cork is short, it will probably let in too much oxygen, correct?
Also doesn't the cork look a bit ratty? It doesn't seem solid. A lot of grooves.

 

[ChuckD]

The tapered cork you have is basically designed to keep out bugs and dust. I don’t think you will get an acceptable seal with it. Can you find any glass bottles with screw tops? It’s not recommended to reuse them but I know many do and if screwed down tight should provide an acceptable seal.

 

[Rocky]

Hello Akbar and welcome to the forum.

In my opinion, the short answer to your question is "no," the cork you have, however you manage to insert it, will not protect your wine for "a few years." I sympathize with you in that you cannot obtain equipment readily. Are you able to order from sites like Amazon? If so, I suggest that you pursue this option:

https://www.amazon.com/T-Shape-Plas...&qid=1697895892&sprefix=,aps,205&sr=8-17&th=1
I am not certain that this will fulfill your needs. However, because the material is cork and if you store the bottle on its side rather than standing straight up, it should work. You might also want to add some type of plastic tape around the top to make the seal more air tight. Be sure to measure the diameter of the opening in your bottles to assure the corks will fit.



Good luck!

 

[winemaker81]

Welcome to WMT!

I apologize in advance for your ignorance and questions that might seem asinine to you.

Actually it's the reverse -- asking question to learn is the wiser way to go about things. It's far easier to direct you down a good path than it is to fix problems.

The tapered corks you have will work in the short term, but they don't make a good seal. @ChuckD's suggestion to use screw cap bottles may be the best for your situation.

My first wines were bottled in old whiskey bottles with screwcaps. I suggest you use glass bottles, not plastic, as wine is acidic and plastic bottles that are perfectly fine for non-acidic liquids might react badly to wine.

 

[Jovimaple]

@akbar67 Welcome to WMT!

 

[akbar67]

The tapered cork you have is basically designed to keep out bugs and dust. I don’t think you will get an acceptable seal with it. Can you find any glass bottles with screw tops? It’s not recommended to reuse them but I know many do and if screwed down tight should provide an acceptable seal.

Many thanks. I'm going to try to find screw tops. Will report back.

Welcome to WMT!


Actually it's the reverse -- asking question to learn is the wiser way to go about things. It's far easier to direct you down a good path than it is to fix problems.

The tapered corks you have will work in the short term, but they don't make a good seal. @ChuckD's suggestion to use screw cap bottles may be the best for your situation.

My first wines were bottled in old whiskey bottles with screwcaps. I suggest you use glass bottles, not plastic, as wine is acidic and plastic bottles that are perfectly fine for non-acidic liquids might react badly to wine.

Many thanks. I'm going to try to find screw tops. Will report back.

 

[ratflinger]

I apologize in advance for your ignorance and questions that might seem asinine to you. I am just trying to make do with what I can find. The only other option would be to store in screw top plastic water bottles (which is what 99% of everyone else here does) which I am trying to avoid.



If you are going to apologize for my ignorance, then you are going to be up all night. And welcome to WMT

 

[akbar67]

Thanks to you all. I really appreciate the friendly atmosphere here!

 

[akbar67]

Damn. I just realized in my original post I wrote "I apologize in advance for your ignorance" Sorry. It was meant to say MY ignorance.

 

[winemaker81]

Damn. I just realized in my original post I wrote "I apologize in advance for your ignorance" Sorry. It was meant to say MY ignorance.

Everyone knew what you meant -- we're a fun group and I was waiting for someone to harass you about it.

If you want, you should be able to edit the post.

 

[ChuckD]

I think what @ratflinger is trying to say is “apology accepted”

 

[akbar67]

Hello Everyone, I did more research and found a factory that sells glass bottles online. The screw tops come in plastic and metal. See picture the factory sent.


Which do you think I should go for?
Plastic or metal? I don't know enough to predict which would be more likely to react poorly with wine. Plastic I always try to stay away from. But then I worry that metal could react with the wine too.

 

[winemaker81]

Which do you think I should go for?
Plastic or metal? I don't know enough to predict which would be more likely to react poorly with wine. Plastic I always try to stay away from. But then I worry that metal could react with the wine too.

Unfortunately, unless the plastic bottles are rated for wine, the answer is neither. If the metal ones are stainless steel they may be ok (SS tanks are used for aging wine), but any other metal is a problem.

 

[Rice_Guy]

A typical metal cap is threaded aluminum which provides a tight mechanical seal, and then inside that is a plastic liner which provides the actual product contact and seal. The plastic could be a Saran disk that can be pulled out or a plastic that is deposited inside the cap. A modern cap will be tighter than traditional cork with an oxygen transfer rating as 0.1 mg per year. (natural cork is 5 to 7 mg per year)
Old technology would be to have a paper disk with a white plastic contact surface. I would not use the paper style liner. The thread count on the glass and cap will have two numbers, a diameter as 28mm and a thread count.

Which is best? The best choice is a convenient size for consuming in a week. Large containers that take a month to finish have an oxidation potential. Small containers are not cost effective if you consume several in a day. If you hunt you should find old style glass vinegar bottles that are 3 or 4 liters, good for party size. The common US and European wine is 750ml.

Plastic bottles are rated for oxygen resistance and chemical resistance (alcohol). PET is a common plastic which is competent for both functions. Many plastic food containers are multiple layers with layers that provide water resistance or oxygen resistance or alcohol resistance and are as effective as older glass containers.

 

[sour_grapes]

The OP said that the BOTTLES are glass. It is the caps that are metal or plastic.

I would use the metal caps; as @Rice_Guy explained, they will most likely have a plastic insert (so that they will not react with your wine) and they will have a lower rate of oxygen ingress.

 

[akbar67]

@sour_grapes wrote The OP said that the BOTTLES are glass. It is the caps that are metal or plastic.

Yes. it is correct. The bottles are 1 liter glass. My last post was just asking about the caps.
I'll find out if they metal caps have a plastic insert.
Thanks again.

 

[akbar67]

Hello everyone,
I'm still searching for a bottle cap.
The latest find is the cap with plastic lining you see in the images below.
I am wondering if this would be tight enough if I first wrap the bottle with a layer of silicon tape. What's your opinion?

 

[Rice_Guy]

From the photo, this looks like an aluminum cap with a plastic liner. Metal provides excellent oxygen barrier properties, for oxygen it doesn’t get any better. The interior looks like a plastic liner. Plastic liners inside a metal screw insulated the acidic wine from touching/ reacting with the metal. It doesn’t get any better.
The inside looks threaded which lets one snug down/ deform the plastic to conform with glass imperfections. IS the cap pressure rated? Probably is at least one atmosphere. OK.