Recycling Screw-finish Bottles

[LadyStardust]

I posted this question in my introductory thread (http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54191) but realized it would be better suited to this part of the forum. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

We have done some recycling. My fiance is a chef at a pretty large hotel, and he has the bartender saving us bottles as often as she can, so we've gotten 4-5 cases that way! ...

...The vast majority of them are screw-top. So far we have only bottled the rhubarb wine and we used about 50% cork finish bottles from the brew shop & the other half we experimented with corking the recycled screw cap bottles.

A few of the corks began to work their way out of the screw finish bottles within 24 hours, so we capped them with the recycled caps (over the cork) and that has kept the corks in place. The cork finish bottles are doing extremely well, with no signs of the corks making a break for it.

Does anyone know if the corks being held in place by the caps on the screw-finish bottles will work for longer term storage?

-Diana

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Ladystardust - and welcome. Many of my friends and colleagues give me an empty or two and many of these are screw tops but I simply cork them as if they were regular corked bottles. My guess is that the screw top bottles are not likely to last through many cycles of filling as the tops are thinner than the smooth necked bottles, but so far I have not had any problems with broken tops or any problems with corks popping simply because of the type of bottle. The real issue is whether the corker you use will snap the bottle where it is threaded because of the pressure exerted on the thinner wall.
That said, if it takes a screw on cap to keep the cork in place then the problem may not be the bottle but the amount of carbon dioxide in the bottle. Make sure that the wine has been adequately "de-gassed" either by aging (and racking) or by mechanically expelling the CO2 - by stirring or via a vacuum pump.

 

[TonyR]

Yes I belive your wine still had a lot of co2 in it. I would not use screw top bottles with corks. The glass on screw top bottles is MUCH thinner than bottles that use corks and you are chancing a nasty accident while you try to put corks in those bottles.

 

[richmke]

If the cork is working its way out, you don't have a tight enough fit. Like Tony said, it could be CO2 pushing the cork out.

> Does anyone know if the corks being held in place by the caps on the screw-finish bottles will work for longer term storage?

It will work for short-term storage. If you don't have a tight fit, I would not trust it for long-term storage. I am guessing you are using a #8 cork. That is not good for long-term storage. #9 cork is what you want. However, the bigger the cork, the bigger the risk the cork breaks the neck of the bottle.

 

[BernardSmith]

I have yet to experience the cork breaking the neck of the bottle. I use a floor corker and so far have never had a bottle break on me... although I sometimes hold my breath when I push down on the handle...

 

[Mismost]

I have yet to experience the cork breaking the neck of the bottle. I use a floor corker and so far have never had a bottle break on me... although I sometimes hold my breath when I push down on the handle...

same here! That said, I still don't like them but will use them in a pinch....they will be the last ones filled! Frankly, opening them back up bothers me worse than corking them.

 

[Julie]

The cork will break the neck of a screw top bottle. The neck on those bottles are thinner. There has been a few members on here that had this happen to them. I would not take the chance.

 

[Floandgary]

I have yet to experience the cork breaking the neck of the bottle. I use a floor corker and so far have never had a bottle break on me... although I sometimes hold my breath when I push down on the handle...

I too have felt a little anxiety at corking time on the screw-tops. But I think the bigger risk of breakage occurs when pulling the cork, especially if using a chef/waiters style corkscrew. I for one do not use screw-tops any more. I also expect to have drunk my way into oblivion long before regular cork style bottles become rare

 

[BernardSmith]

I too have felt a little anxiety at corking time on the screw-tops. But I think the bigger risk of breakage occurs when pulling the cork, especially if using a chef/waiters style corkscrew. I for one do not use screw-tops any more. I also expect to have drunk my way into oblivion long before regular cork style bottles become rare

Great point. I generally don't use a waiter's corkscrew but use the kind that puts equal pressure on the outside of the entire rim...

 

[richmke]

I reuse screw top bottles for occasions when I don't want to bring back the bottle. When traveling, I will transfer a bottle from the cellar into a screw top bottle, and put a #8 cork in it.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

You can get some ZORKS

 

[REDRUM]

I wouldn't use corks in screw-finish bottles.
Reusing a screwcap, however - no problem, unless you care about how it looks versus a bottle with a new cork in it.
My father-in-law reuses screwcap bottles all the time and it works out fine. If you're keeping it for many years there may be a tiny bit of oxygen ingress - but then again, that is also the case with cork (in fact, many commercial winemakers prefer to keep using cork as a closure for the very fact that it admits a tiny bit of oxygen over time and this helps flavour development when maturing).