Sanitizing corks

[Chris Pittock]

Sounds good. Are there any makes, models or suppliers that people would recommend or that I should stay away from?

 

[bstnh1]

I bought a Portuguese Floor Corker from Labelpeelers.com for about $50 plus shipping. Best price I could find.

 

[peterseng]

I've always wondered about this. When I started 20 years ago, I used to float corks in sodium Meta' and used a saucer to hold them under the fluid. Recently though I just throw them into my VWE solution just before I bottle, which only means they are floating for a few minutes. When I need one, I grab it out and rinse it under the tap before putting it in the corker.

The corks I use now are waxed and the pack says there's no need to soak. They seem to go in quite easily and I've only ever had one force itself out. They don't seem to leak like the older style ones did.

I do rather fancy one of those fancy Italian floor corking machines everyone seems to like. Are they easy to use? I currently have an old wooden thing that I drop the cork into the top and hit the plunger with a wood mallet.

I just recently obtained a floor corker. The first time I used it I was positively giddy with excitement about how easy it was! (Yes, I know I need to get out more, lol). Regarding sanitizing methods for corks, I had been soaking mine in a K-meta solution before corking. Based on the comments above about the corker rusting, I think I'll try the fuming method some had described. Now that I have the wonderful floor corker, I don't want to ruin it!

 

[cmason1957]

Sounds good. Are there any makes, models or suppliers that people would recommend or that I should stay away from?

I would go with the blue Italian Floor Corker over the Portuguese model. It is more expensive, but not a horrible cost at about $100. The jaws are made of brass and can be replaced in the Italian, the lever arm is longer (read easier to cork with). And I have used both, they both work and are an improvement over the hand corkers. The Italian is the better long term buy, in my opinion.

 

[winemaker81]

I do rather fancy one of those fancy Italian floor corking machines everyone seems to like. Are they easy to use? I currently have an old wooden thing that I drop the cork into the top and hit the plunger with a wood mallet.

Get a floor corker. It's worth it, and the last forever. Mine is 30 years old and works like a champ.

Others have recommended NOT soaking corks for use with floor corkers. I can attest to this, as the base plate is steel and it develops rust.

I keep my corks sealed in the original bag and take 'em out as I need 'em. This is typically what commercial wineries do.

 

[bstnh1]

I would go with the blue Italian Floor Corker over the Portuguese model. It is more expensive, but not a horrible cost at about $100. The jaws are made of brass and can be replaced in the Italian, the lever arm is longer (read easier to cork with). And I have used both, they both work and are an improvement over the hand corkers. The Italian is the better long term buy, in my opinion.

If you take a look at the Italian corkers ( Ferrari) available on the web, some have the brass jaws but there's also some now with chrome jaws. Not sure if that means they're doing away with the brass or not.

 

[cmason1957]

If you take a look at the Italian corkers ( Ferrari) available on the web, some have the brass jaws but there's also some now with chrome jaws. Not sure if that means they're doing away with the brass or not.

I hadn't ever seen the chrome jawed one. Of course, I haven't looked for a new one in about four years. Not sure I would buy the chrome Jaws. Maybe others have some experience using one.

 

[bstnh1]

I hadn't ever seen the chrome jawed one. Of course, I haven't looked for a new one in about four years. Not sure I would buy the chrome Jaws. Maybe others have some experience using one.

It seems to be the same as the one with brass jaws but with chrome plating over the brass. Not sure why you would want that.

https://morewinemaking.com/products/ferrari-floor-corker-chrome-jaws.html

 

[stickman]

In the past, brass would typically contain a small amount of lead. I'm not really worried about it as my corks go through the jaws dry. Even with wet corks it probably wasn't a big deal, but there may be more scrutiny these days for equipment with potential food contact.

 

[Johnd]

I’ve got the Portuguese style corker, it’s been fine for me for thousands of bottles / corks. When this one dies, now that I’ve got the wine room, I may move to a table mounted corker instead of floor model. It woul make the process a bit smoother, ie:, bottling / corking / labeling all done sitting comfortably at the counter, no stooping to load / unload bottles / corks.

 

[montanarick]

Have had the Ferrari Italian corker for couple years now and it works flawlessly. though it was sturdier and better investment than the Portuguese model.

Before I insert corks, I just dip into glass of vodka!

 

[garymc]

Never get your corks wet until they're touching the wine in the bottle. I keep a quart spray bottle with k-meta sanitizing solution. I spray the bottom, sides and lid of a 5 gallon bucket with this, put my corks in a colander, put the colander in the bucket and put the lid on it. 10 or 15 minutes of exposure to the sulfite gas is plenty. We call this a Corkidor. No need to rinse anything off the corks, because the only thing that gets on them is the sanitizing gas. One of the members of another winemaking group kept her corks in a bucket with solution for several months. They were moldy when she opened it. Just put them in the bucket with the solution when you start filling bottles and by the time you have a case or two ready to bottle, the corks are ready.

 

[Thormo]

Commercial wineries do not soak corks. Corks arrive in sealed bags pre-moistened so there is no need to soak them. If you use corks from a bag that was previously opened then you can use the “corkidor” method to re-hydrate them. It wasn’t mentioned in the last post but cork manufacturers suggest that water at the bottom should be hot enough to generate steam.

Some cork suppliers will rehydrate corks for you If you are a large enough customer.

I can attest to soaking corks in warm water before. 5 years later they are the hardest corks to remove from a bottle with a standard corkscrew.