synthetic corks

[hounddawg]

the Italian floor corker is the way to go, i do as my state allows of 100 gallons a year cough,,,
with metal jaws it is like sliced bread
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

My Ferrari has plain 'ole brass jaws and it works fine with Nomacorcs -- been using them for several years and have yet to mess up a cork. I've yet to find a cork it could not put into a normal wine bottle.

I have no idea if chrome plating (follow the link in @Brian55's post above) makes a difference. I doubt the jaw design has changed much (if at all). Someone with a newer corker will have to chime in.

Agreed,,,, my Italian floor corker has only had FLOR corks and Noma croc select 900's put thru it for quite a spell, and knock on wood still as smooth as silk,
Dawg

 

[wineh]

My Ferrari has plain 'ole brass jaws and it works fine with Nomacorcs -- been using them for several years and have yet to mess up a cork. I've yet to find a cork it could not put into a normal wine bottle.

I have no idea if chrome plating (follow the link in @Brian55's post above) makes a difference. I doubt the jaw design has changed much (if at all). Someone with a newer corker will have to chime in.

Morewine also lists the brass Jaw model and states it is not compatible with synthetic corks either. Now I'm confused.

 

[winemaker81]

Morewine also lists the brass Jaw model and states it is not compatible with synthetic corks either. Now I'm confused.

It's possible that a few people experienced problems, so the blanket warning is posted to avoid returns of the corker.

It's also possible that specific (probably really cheap) synthetic corks get notched, although it's not obvious why -- the jaws work the way they work. Dawg & I use Nomacorcs and experience no problems.

If anyone uses a non-Nomacorc synthetic and wants a test, PM me -- you can send me a couple of corks and I'll try them in my corker, sending pictures of what the corks look like when pulled.

 

[stickman]

I don't use Nomacorc or synthetics extensively, but I have put at least several hundred through my Italian corker without any problems. I recall a discussion in the past regarding some corker jaws having a burr that needed to be carefully knocked down with emery cloth. Inspect the jaws in operation and make sure everything is smooth especially when jaws are at the final compression position. It might be best to try a test in the suspect corker by compressing the Nomacorc all the way, but don't drive it through the jaws, then release and check the cork for damage. This will help determine if the problem is during compression or just during the insertion. If the damage only occurrs during insertion, then check the jaws when fully closed for sharp edges on the side corresponding to where the damage is noted on the cork.

The Nomacorc bottling guide has some details in the corking equipment section.

 

[hounddawg]

like @winemaker81 said, I've burnt through almost a thousand nomacroc select 900's with out a single problem, i looked up a corker that others above mentioned and did not know what it was, it turned out to be a Italian floor corked with chrome plated jaws , mine is just brass, the ones they we're complaining about looked just like mine but had chrome plating on the jaws, um a so called upgrade for Champaign , other then that ones chrome plating i saw no other differences,
Dawg

 

[mainshipfred]

like @winemaker81 said, I've burnt through almost a thousand nomacroc select 900's with out a single problem, i looked up a corker that others above mentioned and did not know what it was, it turned out to be a Italian floor corked with chrome plated jaws , mine is just brass, the ones they we're complaining about looked just like mine but had chrome plating on the jaws, um a so called upgrade for Champaign , other then that ones chrome plating i saw no other differences,
Dawg

Good to know since I'm down to my last 150 natural corks and considering going to Normacorcs. Would hate to buy 1000 and not be able to use them.

 

[hounddawg]

Good to know since I'm down to my last 150 natural corks and considering going to Normacorcs. Would hate to buy 1000 and not be able to use them.

you can get select 900's #9 x 1 & 3/4 in 1 hundred lot bags on eBay turn key for $30 , that is cheap to find out if you like them, nomaroc's are good standing or laying on thier sides, i have wines 5 an 6 years old and they are the same as the FLOR's are, for 10 years, if you want longer their is normacroc reserva that are rated for a minimum of 25 years, on amazon 1000 lot for $300
Dawg

 

[mainshipfred]

you can get select 900's #9 x 1 & 3/4 in 1 hundred lot bags on eBay turn key for $30 , that is cheap to find out if you like them, nomaroc's are good standing or laying on thier sides, i have wines 5 an 6 years old and they are the same as the FLOR's are, for 10 years, if you want longer their is normacroc reserva that are rated for a minimum of 25 years, on amazon 1000 lot for $300
Dawg

Afraid neither me or my wines are going to make it 25 years so that one out! Good point though to buy a smaller quantity first.

 

[winemaker81]

@stickman, thanks for posting the Nomacorc document. Some of their points don't make practical sense, but do make legal "let's cover our butts" sense.

If I had a problem, first I'd examine the jaws up to the point where they are hidden by the rod that pushes the cork into the bottle. If the jaws are not tight fitting or if there is a burr, that is most likely the problem.

I'm unsure how well just compressing the cork will work, as the act of punching it through the jaws may be the problem. One thought is to simply cork a bottle, pull the cork, and examine it. If there is a problem, investigate further.

Without having a corking problem myself, all I can do is theorize. Not that I'm complaining about not having a problem .....

I'm using the #9 x 1.5" Nomacorcs, and after a couple of years experience no problems. I may get to the 5 year mark and wish I had purchased the higher grade, but I won't know until I get there ....

 

[Wine Lab]

I find this thread interesting in that I am going through the same thing myself - i.e. my Portuguese floor corker with a 4 jaw plastic jaw system is doing the same thing, i.e. putting a crease in synthetic corks that causes the bottled to leak if you put them on their side. It appears that the jaws don't meet perfectly in a circle to compress the cork without putting a crease in it. The wine supplier shop I bought it from said the problem was well known and his advice was to count to three when I had the cork compressed before inserting the cork and that should help with preventing the crease, but it didn't.

So then I contacted a MoreWine sales rep and asked him why do they say a hand corker will work with synthetic cork and a floor corker will not, he then told me a hand corker would not have enough leverage for synthetic corks so he recommends a floor corker. I told him to read the comments on their website re floor corkers and synthetic corks and he then he came back with the party line that they don't recommend floor corkers with plastic jaws for these corks (W410) but any other floor corker would work, even though that is not what their website states, and includes the one with brass jaws, saying it is not recommended for synthetic corks.. So no help whatsoever, they sound very confused on their own products they sell.

I then contacted a sales rep with the Nomacorc company, and he said first, you need a floor corker to get the compression needed for synthetic corks if you are doing any amount at all, a hand corker will be tiring, and second, to him it does not matter if the floor corker has 3 jaws or 4 jaws, whether plastic or brass, the jaws have to be adjustable, so you can add a shim or something to eliminate all gaps or sharp edges when the jaws compress to form that perfect circle. The key to him was to buy an adjustable compression floor corker, in other words, a jaw system that can be pulled apart and adjusted, even shimmed if necessary.

I then started looking for an adjustable jaws floor corker, I am thinking brass jaws would be better for staying aligned and true, but it did not matter, I could not find anyone who sold anything resembling this.

So I am back at square one, having had no luck in resolving this. I could order replacement plastic jaws for my Portuguese floor corker, but that is really not solving the problem as there is no adjustment as far as I can tell.. There appears to a ton of misinformation out there for a relatively simple problem and a very common problem, and even the Vendors that sell them, like MoreWine seem confused and have no solutions other than recommending a small hand corker with plastic jaws, which makes no sense. Any help on this would be appreciated.

 

[winemaker81]

Off hand, the supply shops like MoreWine simply regurgitate what the manufacturers tell them. They don't question it, they just post it -- mostly for liability reasons and to avoid returns.

The Nomacorc salesman? In my experience, far too many sales folk do not understand what they are selling. Kind of like phone support that works off a script and has no idea what to do if pushed off the script.

Some months back there was a thread regarding disassembling and reassembling a floor corker. It included pictures showing what the internals look like. That thread may provide additional information.

 

[CDrew]

I've had no problems with my Ferrari floor corker and Normacorcs. It does mark the cork where the brass jaws come together but it does't crease it or cause leaks. I suggest you do the test for yourself. I've been happy with Normacorcs.

You can buy small bags of Normacorcs on Amazon for small money.

 

[winemaker81]

I popped the cork on a wine I bottled nearly 1.5 years ago, and examined the cork. There is a mark on the cork, but I've not had one leak (yet).



One thing to keep in mind is that home wine makers with a corking machine that costs less than $150 USD are NOT going to get a cork that comes out of the bottle looking perfect, as we don't have $10,000+ corking machines .....



Oddly enough, until I looked at this picture, it never occurred to me that my corks come out of the bottle somewhat deformed.

Why? Because it doesn't matter. This cork sealed the bottle just fine, it did it's job, so I did not pay much attention to it.

I'm leaning towards the idea that natural corks spring back better from the effects of the corker. Problems with synthetic corks may be due to misalignment of the jaws.

Note: I line up the grape imprint so the stem is at the top. The crease is produced by the bottom of the jaws.

 

[hounddawg]

I've had no problems with my Ferrari floor corker and Normacorcs. It does mark the cork where the brass jaws come together but it does't crease it or cause leaks. I suggest you do the test for yourself. I've been happy with Normacorcs.

You can buy small bags of Normacorcs on Amazon for small money.

that Ferrari floor corker, from what i could find is mainly a Italian floor corker with the difference being the Ferrari has chrome plated jaws, and the Italian floor corker having brass jaws, i repeat that's all i could find, and the reason I'M asking is beings you own a Ferrari floor corker, until this thread i had not every heard of a Ferrari.
Thank You
Dawg

 

[Rembee]

I've been using Nomacorc #9x1.5 for a few years now with a Portuguese floor corker that I bought from E.C. Kraus back in 2004. I have not had any problems with any corks or this floor corker. There is a lot of mention about the Italian floor corker but has anyone had problems with a Portuguese corker?

 

[hounddawg]

not that i know of, and your statement has zero to do with my question, I stated that before yesterday I had never heard of a Ferrari corker, and that my search engine only showed limited information, main difference i could find between a Italian floor corker and the Ferrari floor corked and the only difference i could see was chrome plated jaws for Ferrari corker, and was trying to ask if a Ferrari owner owner knew of any other difference,,,
Dawg

I've been using Nomacorc #9x1.5 for a few years now with a Portuguese floor corker that I bought from E.C. Kraus back in 2004. I have not had any problems with any corks or this floor corker. There is a lot of mention about the Italian floor corker but has anyone had problems with a Portuguese corker?

 

[Rembee]

not that i know of, and your statement has zero to do with my question, I stated that before yesterday I had never heard of a Ferrari corker, and that my search engine only showed limited information, main difference i could find between a Italian floor corker and the Ferrari floor corked and the only difference i could see was chrome plated jaws for Ferrari corker, and was trying to ask if a Ferrari owner owner knew of any other difference,,,
Dawg

I was not trying to answer your question Dawg! I was merely asking if anyone had any like problems with a Portuguese floor corker with cork grooving problems!

Rembee

 

[hounddawg]

i h

I was not trying to answer your question Dawg! I was merely asking if anyone had any like problems with a Portuguese floor corker with cork grooving problems!

Rembee

Have never heard of a problem with the Portuguese floor corker, as far as i know the only difference is cast vinyl jaws, which i hear is a top of the line product, and the Italian which has brass jaws, sorry i miss read your post, I ,,,till yesterday had never heard of a Ferrari corker with chrome plated jaws, the way i interpreted them was they are mainly for Champlain, but i do live in the backwoods and hear we'll be getting running water in just a few more years,,, LOL
Dawg

 

[Rembee]

No worries Dawg. I like you... live out in the back woods too lol