Natural Corks

[whino-wino]

I have always used the "Altec" corks when bottling my wine. I am thinking of using some natural corks when I bottle my next batch. The only corker I have is a Portugese double lever and I'm not sure if this is going to be sufficient for the natural corks. I have always boiled my corks prior to inserting them rather than soaking them in a K-Meta solution. I've never had any problem with leakers when doing this and it softens them rather nicely so that it takes minimal effort to insert them with the double lever corker.


Two questions:


1.) Will my corker work fine or should I upgrade to a floor or benchmodel?


2.) Is it better to soak the natural corks ina K-Meta solutionor would boiling them work fine?

 

[PeterZ]

Actually, neither. Corks come with a coating that allows them to be removed easily. Boiling or soaking removes that coating. See the thread on Cork Humidor for the best approach.

 

[masta]

This article from a past newsletter will also provide more info:


http://www.finevinewines.com/November_2007.htm#LETTER.BLOCK5

 

[joeswine]

yes the floor corker,good tool must have if you intend to do volume as far as corks go i just rinse mine and thats it,never had cork tant or any other problems,however i do vacume seal the left over corksEdited by: joeswine

 

[whino-wino]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't realize that boiling the corks would have that much effect on them(the article link was a good read). I have always placed the corks in a colander and dropped them in boiling water for about 30 seconds or so. I figured that water at that temp would kill any bacteria and the heat seemed to soften the corks pretty well, but I had never considered that any water that soaked in may invite bacteria at a later time. The humidor idea also sounds like a winner, but I think I would definitely need to upgrade my corker if I did so as that probably wouldn't soften the corks very much, or am I wrong?


I am still wondering if the double lever corker will work with natural corks or if it would be too much of a hassle to deal with.


For the record, I'm 6'3" and 270 lbs. I've never had an issue with the double lever corker except for one time when I was trying to squeeze #9 corks into 375ml bottles.

 

[joeswine]

its not the strenght involved its the time savings ,but you'll find your own way,for you.

 

[geocorn]

I tried today and the natural corks don't work well with the hand corkers. Doesn't get the cork all the way in. Looks like a job for a floor corker!

 

[jobe05]

I ran acrossed a brew shop a couple of weeks ago that carried only natural corks. I had to ask why......... and how do they put them in since I have 200 of them and even with an Italian corker, have a hard time putting them in. She gave me a tip that I tried ad it worked perfectly. In a floor corker, put the cork in and hold it in the compressed state, before inserting it for a few extra seconds. The extra hold in compression, makes it go into the bottle much easier, and works like a charm. I couldn't imagine putting these in with a hand corker.

 

[whino-wino]

Oh well. It was time to upgrade my corker anyway. I just placed the order 2 minutes ago....


I guess I could keep the Double lever hand corker as a "back-up".

 

[Bert]

I think you will find thatyour upgrade to a floor corker will be well worth the investment....It makes corking a much easier job.....Good Luck...And let us know what you think about your corker after you get to use it..

 

[joeswine]

now youron the right track,stepping up to the bigs

 

[whino-wino]

Got my new corker today. I was so excited I had to go ahead and bottle 1 (of 2) gallons of Sand Cherry wine about3 months ahead of schedule. (I still need to work on that "patience" thing, hard to do with a new toy though)


One word.....WOW!


I had no idea how much nicer the corks would insert.

 

[Wade E]

The floor corker is absolutely a blessing!

 

[joeswine]

see what i mean,takes the hard out of the word work,i;ve found the right investments in this craft make the difference in time and labor,most of the time,but the wish list keeps getting bigger until you find your happyville ,a corking we will go!

 

[corn field]

am I different because after 5 years I still havent found happyville yet

 

[whino-wino]

For those of you who don't know what a difference the floor corker makes vs a hand corker (like me until just the other day), here's a pic of a cork inserted with the Portugese double lever and below it is a pic of a cork inserted with the floor corker.

 

[Wade E]

That was 1 of the reasons I couldnt stand the hand corker as I am very nit picky of any thing I do. It just has to be pleasing to the eye!

Edited by: wade

 

[Mark]

Dang, now that I see the difference I'm gonna have to get one, too!