screw top bottles

[RCGoodin]

How many of you are using screw tops vs corks?

 

[Dkrmwiz]

I'm small batch, the most I make at once is 5 gallons. I use the artificial corks.

 

[RCGoodin]

Thanks.

 

[Raptor99]

I have been experimenting with using a few screw top bottles for each batch, with corks in the rest. So far they seem to have worked fine.

 

[winemaker81]

Screwcaps can be used, but the caps are NOT designed for re-use. Most can be re-used once or twice (maybe more), but the seal will fail.

If you do it, screw the cap down very tightly, then lay the bottle on its side. If it leaks, transfer the wine to a new bottle.

DO NOT put a cork in a screwcap bottle. The glass is not reinforced to handle the stress of insertion or extraction of a cork, and the glass can shatter. Additionally, the interior of a screwcap bottle is not a cylinder, it varies in size, so you will not get a good seal. It may hold wine, but it will allow O2 ingres.

 

[Raptor99]

@winemaker81 Thanks for adding the details that I should have mentioned but did not. I never put a cork in a screw top bottle.

 

[VinesnBines]

I had a bottle from a commercial winery that I was cleaning to reuse. It was interesting because it had a wax covering over the cork. When I finally got the wax off I was horrified to see that it was a screw top bottle. The winery had corked screw top bottles then covered with wax to hide the threads. I was unimpressed with the wines but I’ll never go back.

 

[Vinobeau]

I switched to screw tops about 20 years ago. I reuse them and have about 30 cases of different wines. I have never had a bottle go bad.

 

[Gilmango]

I use both screwcaps as well as corks (one or the other, not both). With the screw caps I generally store them upright, no need to store on the side as there is no cork to keep moist. And if you store them upright there is no reason to really torque the screwcap on so very tight (and over-torquing is what leads to failure on the screwcap threads in my experience).

My wife's preferred drink is Spanish Vermut, nearly all of which is sold in screwcap bottles. So I'd be tossing alot of otherwise good bottles if I did not also re-use the screwcapped ones. Speaking of which, I need to try to replicate some good red Vermut / Vermouth one of these days, anyone have a good recipe or tips?

 

[winemaker81]

And if you store them upright there is no reason to really torque the screwcap on so very tight (and over-torquing is what leads to failure on the screwcap threads in my experience).

O2 ingress can be a problem with screwcaps, even if the bottle doesn't leak. The seals in screwcap are single-use items, not created for multiple uses. O2 ingress may occur at a higher than desired rate even if the bottle doesn't leak as repeated tightening compresses the seal material.

If the wines are not stored for extended periods (e.g., a year or so), it may not matter. All that said, if you're ok with the situation, I'm ok with it. I'm just pointing out potential physical problems.

I've never had screwcap threads fail, so I'm not aware of that problem. It makes sense that if the metal of the cap is thin enough, it might occur.

Note that I keep some screwcap bottles for short term storage, e.g., barrel topup, but don't keep anything in such bottles for any length of time. I'm risk adverse to longer term storage.

Side note -- when I'm looking to buy a wine and have 2 choices, I'll pick a corkable Bordeaux bottle over everything else, simply because the bottle will be reusable by me.

 

[Shurt1073]

I've been gifted about 350-400 (corked) bottles over the past few years and bought 1,000 Nomacorc corks. I like the screw tops but the path I'm on is CORK. lol

 

[Rice_Guy]

O2 ingress can be a problem with screwcaps, even if the bottle doesn't leak. . . . O2 ingress may occur at a higher than desired rate even if the bottle doesn't leak . . . .

As a reference a natural cork and Nomacork are both expected to transfer 4 to 5mg oxygen in the first year. A virgin aluminum cap is rated as under 0.1mg oxygen per year. Yes there are some aluminum caps that leak, I find them by laying the bottles on their side for a day.
All bottling runs have a few screw caps included. In a decade I haven’t noticed obvious difference between flavor on recycled screw cap usage vs Nomacork.