Screw Top versus Corks

[zx12a1]

Hi All

Back to making country wines after a long absence.

Query - will my wine age in screw top bottles (re-used from bought wine)?

Any other issues re-using screw top bottles?

Reasons?

Thanks

AndyF.

 

[Rice_Guy]

welcome to WMT

Reused screw top bottles are basically as good as common grade corks. They will give one advantage, we can reduce the head space to 1 to 1.5cm. (Less oxygen). They have a disadvantage in that the second time they are used they will have conformed to a different shape so some can leak. (I hold everything sideways a day to find the leakers). Both types of closure will leak some oxygen into the wines.

New factory applied aluminum caps are about fifty times more tight than natural cork or synthetic cork, new is better for long storage. For home use there are better grades that can be purchased at 1000 per bag as Reserva, As an entry level winemaker the grade won’t be available at your local store.

There is a measurement called “total package oxygen”. As a winemaker doing 20 liter batches the air incorporated via racking is high so most country wine has limited shelf life. I encourage you to look at types of tannin and metabisulphite (antioxidants) to fight oxidation in production.

 

[zx12a1]

Thanks for the detailed reply!

 

[Jovimaple]

Welcome to WMT!

 

[winemaker81]

Wine is going to age no matter what you put it in. Given @Rice_Guy's statement that used screwcaps are about as good as a common grade cork, you probably won't see too much difference.

However, re-use of screwcaps is a diminishing return -- each re-use has a higher likelihood of having a damaged seal. Even if it doesn't leak, O2 ingress may be higher in later uses.

On the rare occasions I use screwcaps, I lay the bottles on their sides for a week -- if it's going to leak, it will do so fairly soon.

Note -- do NOT put a cork in a screwcap bottle. A big danger is the neck is not designed for the stresses of inserting or removing a cork, and shattering the bottle is possible.

Also, the interior diameter of the neck is not a standard size, and many are not a true cylinder, so the cork may not seal well. It may not leak, but O2 ingress may be high.

 

[TonsOfPlums]

Well that’s good to know. I use all wine bottles and cork them but may need to cull the screw top ones

 

[Sailor323]

Note -- do NOT put a cork in a screwcap bottle. A big danger is the neck is not designed for the stresses of inserting or removing a cork, and shattering the bottle is possible.

I have routinely put #9 corks in screw cap bottles. Hundreds of them, in fact. I think the possibility of breakage is due to the kind of corkscrew is used to extract the cork. Some corkscrews (especially the french waiter corkscrew, put uneven stress on the glass increasing the chance of breakage. I use a screwpull type of corkscrew and a floor corker puts even pressure when corking.

 

[Sailor323]

I have routinely put #9 corks in screw cap bottles. Hundreds of them, in fact. I think the possibility of breakage is due to the kind of corkscrew is used to extract the cork. Some corkscrews (especially the french waiter corkscrew, put uneven stress on the glass increasing the chance of breakage. I use a screwpull type of corkscrew and a floor corker puts even pressure when corking.

 

[winemaker81]

I have routinely put #9 corks in screw cap bottles. Hundreds of them, in fact. I think the possibility of breakage is due to the kind of corkscrew is used to extract the cork. Some corkscrews (especially the french waiter corkscrew, put uneven stress on the glass increasing the chance of breakage. I use a screwpull type of corkscrew and a floor corker puts even pressure when corking.

I'm repeating what the vendors say -- if the manufacturer says the glass is not designed for the stress, I'm listening.

Examine a corkable and screwcap bottle side-by-side. The necks are completely different, and generally speaking, corkable bottles are heavier glass all around. Given the cost of raw materials and shipping (weight), if corkable bottles could be built lighter, they would be. The fact that they are not is telling.

Many years ago I snapped the neck off a screwcap bottle using a corkpull. No damage done, and I poured the wine through a coffee filter to ensure no glass shards would be ingested. I haven't put a cork in a screwcap bottle since.

 

[denky28]

I have routinely put #9 corks in screw cap bottles. Hundreds of them, in fact. I think the possibility of breakage is due to the kind of corkscrew is used to extract the cork. Some corkscrews (especially the french waiter corkscrew, put uneven stress on the glass increasing the chance of breakage. I use a screwpull type of corkscrew and a floor corker puts even pressure when corking.

As have I. I never thought of the type of cork screw used to open it though. I use the kind also that puts even pressure on the glass and they work great. Probably 1/3 of my bottles are screw on top, so not using those would.make a considerable dent in my bottle supply.

 

[winemaker81]

As have I. I never thought of the type of cork screw used to open it though. I use the kind also that puts even pressure on the glass and they work great. Probably 1/3 of my bottles are screw on top, so not using those would.make a considerable dent in my bottle supply.

Consider that while you cork and uncork in a controlled fashion, anyone you give a bottle to may not.

Do you have any local wineries? I go to a local meadery periodically and they are happy to give me tasting room empties, all puntless Bordeaux bottles, as I use all Bordeaux bottles because they stack well.

Also, when I'm buying wine, if I am choosing between 2 wines that both appear good, I'll choose the corkable Bordeaux bottle over a non-Bordeaux or screwcap bottle. I'm always thinking about having bottling supplies ...

Note that I use all Bordeaux bottles as I have the sources for them. I realize not everyone has this.