synthetic corks

[CDrew]

In light of my recent experiences with Nomacorcs, I'm afraid I have to stop using them altogether and can no longer recommend them to anyone. Here is what happened:
I bottled a batch of Sauvignon Blanc in early September using the Noma 900s and thin vinyl shrink capsules. Over the weekend I had some guests who wanted to taste it and I put a couple of bottles in the freezer for half hour, than moved them to the fridge for another half hour. When the time came to open them, the Nomacorcs in both of them started spinning with the corkscrew and I couldn't open them. I had to improvise something to keep them from spinning so I could get the corkscrew inserted in those corks and remove them. Than I tried opening another bottle of the same wine at room temperature and the cork in that one was not spinning at all. That tells me that Nomacorcs can't accommodate chilling of the wine bottles they are used on.
Also over the weekend I had a friend tell me that he couldn't open a bottle of red wine I gave him and he had to drill out the cork. That got me worried and when I got home I tried opening another bottle from the same batch. To my surprise, the Nomacorc was stuck and I couldn't get it open. That must have been the result of heating the metalized shrink capsules that I put on, because another bottle without the capsule opened just fine.
After these experiences I'm totally done with Nomacorcs and will never use them again. I'll take the risk of having a few bottles with cork taint and Use Aglica or some other natural corks from now on. As much as I didn't want to believe it, @SpoiledRotten was right. Maybe not all Nomacorc closures have these problems or maybe the fact that they are a year old had something to do with it, but I'm really done with this brand and I don't recommend anyone use them again, unless you don't plan on chilling your wine or using shrink capsules on your bottles.

No disrespect, but this is not my experience. I literally have in my hand right now a white wine bottled with normacorcs that was chilled for several days before we opened tonight. We used a typical corkscrew (An Italian made Boomerang) and no spinning or difficulties opening. Maybe it is your method of installation that is the problem? Maybe the heating step is a bad idea? Although, I've used heat shrink and normacorcs before too with no problems. Many, many commercial operations use Normacorcs with no issues. I've used with favorable results for 5 years and have never experienced your issue. I'd look at your process. Do you wet them, heat them or in some other way alter the way they work?

 

[MiBor]

I'd look at your process. Do you wet them, heat them or in some other way alter the way they work?

They went straight from the bag into the bottles using a Portuguese floor corker with plastic jaws. I even dried the inside of the bottle necks before inserting the corks. The only thing that could maybe explain these failures is that the Nomacorcs were bought last year, but the bag (L.D.Carlson 100 pcs.) was unopened until I used them this year. I understand that some people have had a good experience with these bottle closures and so did I for the most part, but for me to have these problems all of a sudden is a sign that it is time to ditch the brand and try something different that would accommodate all my needs in a wine cork. I bottle red and white wine. The white wine gets chilled before opening, the red doesn't. I also use different types of shrink capsules on all my bottles and I want a good bottle closure that will perform well under all circumstances, without getting fused to the bottle or loose to the point of spinning inside when trying to remove it with a cork screw.

 

[Rice_Guy]

that makes a lot of sense don’t freeze and don’t expose to lots of heat, ,,,,, The nomacorc is a foamed plastic material which will have a defined softening point where it takes on a new shape and will also become more rigid/ brittle as it is cooled/ frozen,

In light of my recent experiences with Nomacorcs, I'm afraid I have to stop using them altogether and can no longer recommend them to anyone. Here is what happened:
. . . That must have been the result of heating the metalized shrink capsules that I put on, because another bottle without the capsule opened just fine.
After these experiences I'm totally done with Nomacorcs and will never use them again. . .
Maybe not all Nomacorc closures have these problems or maybe the fact that they are a year old had something to do with it, but I'm really done with this brand and I don't recommend anyone use them again, unless you don't plan on chilling your wine or using shrink capsules on your bottles. . . .

There is quite a dit of technology in them. Overall the plastic is better oxygen barrier than natural cork, the surface has been melted for a smooth skin, ,,,, and the skin of different grades of the synthetic cork have been electrically etched to create micro tracks which will leak a few mg. of air per year so they copy what a natural cork does.

 

[winemaker81]

@MiBor, I've been using Nomacorcs for nearly 4 years and have no problems with extraction. Of ~800 bottles so far, I've had 2 leak, just a few drops. It's possible you got a bad batch.

EDIT: I shrink capsules with a blowdryer, which didn't have any effect upon the corks.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I've been using Nomacorcs for nearly 12 years. I purchase them in the 1000 pcs and go thru them every2-3 years. No issues with these as I leave alot of my bottles upright (due to storage issues) The only issue I had was a plastic jaw leaving a crease in the cork - replaced the corker and everything has been great since. I do use a heat gun for either wax or foil tops.

I am curious if all the wine bottles don't fluctuate a bit when for the inside neck diameter ? That might be a good explanation ?

 

[CDrew]

What sort of corkscrew was used with the problem corks? Those cheap ones with the arms do take more screw pressure to insert.

 

[cmason1957]

yes, the necks of wine bottles do fluctuate somewhat. I convinced myself of this with several different wine bottles mostly from Costco wine. Some of them, the corks went in just fine, others slipped in much to easily, while others I was unable to get the cork to fully seat with some always sticking out of the top.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I don’t use synthetic corks after having issues with them impacting taste of wines and just being unreliable and leaking and I just feel that cork is superior and also much more environmentally friendly.

 

[rustbucket]

I recently tried semi-synthetic aglomerated corks, and early results are promising.

I've been using agglomerated corks for the past three years and have been very happy with them. @wineh , I'm not sure if the semi-synthetic agglomerated corks you spoke of are a different product or if you're referring to the water-based coating of cork extract used in the making of Acquamark agglomerated corks.

 

[wineh]

I've been using agglomerated corks for the past three years and have been very happy with them. @wineh , I'm not sure if the semi-synthetic agglomerated corks you spoke of are a different product or if you're referring to the water-based coating of cork extract used in the making of Acquamark agglomerated corks.

I'm not sure. The ones I tried look and feel slightly different than regular aglomerated corks. I do believe that I have seen them in commercial wines. Next time I pull one out, I'll post an image here.

 

[bstnh1]

They went straight from the bag into the bottles using a Portuguese floor corker with plastic jaws. I even dried the inside of the bottle necks before inserting the corks. The only thing that could maybe explain these failures is that the Nomacorcs were bought last year, but the bag (L.D.Carlson 100 pcs.) was unopened until I used them this year. I understand that some people have had a good experience with these bottle closures and so did I for the most part, but for me to have these problems all of a sudden is a sign that it is time to ditch the brand and try something different that would accommodate all my needs in a wine cork. I bottle red and white wine. The white wine gets chilled before opening, the red doesn't. I also use different types of shrink capsules on all my bottles and I want a good bottle closure that will perform well under all circumstances, without getting fused to the bottle or loose to the point of spinning inside when trying to remove it with a cork screw.

I no longer use capsules, but I have used Nomacorc with a Portuguese floor corker for the past few years with no issues whether the wine is chilled or not.

 

[hounddawg]

i have a few bags of nomacroc corks that are a few years old , with out problems, i got around 500 more before i buy again,,,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

What sort of corkscrew was used with the problem corks? Those cheap ones with the arms do take more screw pressure to insert.

the bat wings ones with the screw that looks like a auger are worthless, at least to me, but the bat winged ones that has the curled wire i've never had a problem with,,
Dawg

 

[hounddawg]

@MiBor, I've been using Nomacorcs for nearly 4 years and have no problems with extraction. Of ~800 bottles so far, I've had 2 leak, just a few drops. It's possible you got a bad batch.

EDIT: I shrink capsules with a blowdryer, which didn't have any effect upon the corks.

yup that's just about like i do, i use a heat gun that looks like a hairdryer. at one time i used it to make laminate turn loose,,
Dawg

 

[David Violante]

I just listened to an Inside Winemaking podcast by Jim Duane with Francois Margot and DIAM Cork Closures. Very fascinating research and information about the cork harvesting and closure manufacturing process, and what the company is doing to create consistent cork closures. By consistent they mean specific oxygenation and pressure over a specified timeframe.

They have different cork types based on what the user wants… tighter closures with less oxygenation for wines meant to sit for 20 years versus closures that allow for more oxygenation in wines meant to be opened after a year or so. They use a fascinating process of granulating cork, scrubbing it with CO2 in a hyper state, and molding it with a binder and expander to achieve consistent size, permeability, and bottle pressure.

I just thought it was very interesting. Has anyone ever tried these?

Here’s the link to the podcast episode in Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/52LvZqAtKHo8foMn3mvbJI?si=ba-OthRbRDyEnmXAFMj9CQ

Here’s the link to the company:
https://www.diam-closures.com/manufacturer-of-wine-champagne-cork-closures

 

[hounddawg]

I just listened to an Inside Winemaking podcast by Jim Duane with Francois Margot and DIAM Cork Closures. Very fascinating research and information about the cork harvesting and closure manufacturing process, and what the company is doing to create consistent cork closures. By consistent they mean specific oxygenation and pressure over a specified timeframe.

They have different cork types based on what the user wants… tighter closures with less oxygenation for wines meant to sit for 20 years versus closures that allow for more oxygenation in wines meant to be opened after a year or so. They use a fascinating process of granulating cork, scrubbing it with CO2 in a hyper state, and molding it with a binder and expander to achieve consistent size, permeability, and bottle pressure.

I just thought it was very interesting. Has anyone ever tried these?

Here’s the link to the podcast episode in Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/52LvZqAtKHo8foMn3mvbJI?si=ba-OthRbRDyEnmXAFMj9CQ

Here’s the link to the company:
https://www.diam-closures.com/manufacturer-of-wine-champagne-cork-closures

i uset to use only Flor corks for everything, then came, need space, so i went to nomacro select 900, bout 9 year and noacroc Reserve i forget around 25 years or better, dog gone elderberry, lol
Dawg

 

[Cap Puncher]

I really like using Nomacorcs. I have no control on humidity in my cellar and natural corks tend to dry out. Also, it’s nice being able to store upright.

I have been using the 900s, Classic Greens, Select Green 300 (10 yr aging) &100 (15 yr aging), and the Reserva (25yr aging). I just wanted to note that only the select 900s are made to be able to use a floor corker. I do use a floor corker on the others however, you need to modify you corking technique, otherwise the skin will get a fold or score line. The way I get around this issue is by priming the corks with a slight squeeze in the corker jaws. I do this 4-5 times doing a quarter turn after each. After using this technique, I’ve never had an issue with scoring the thicker/denser nomacorcs(especially the Green select 100,300 and Reserva).

It’s hard to find anything other than the 900s for home winemakers (due the the floor corker issue). I found on Crush2Cellar, Nomacorc Green Select 300s in 100 quantity bags.

One last note, the select 100,300 and Reserva, are a bit more difficult to take out with an average corkscrew. It’s not the heating of the capsule issue but they are so dense it creates a tighter seal. I’ve chipped tops of wine bottles trying to get Reserva out with just a cheap server corkscrews.

 

[CDrew]

I really like using Nomacorcs. I have no control on humidity in my cellar and natural corks tend to dry out. Also, it’s nice being able to store upright.

I have been using the 900s, Classic Greens, Select Green 300 (10 yr aging) &100 (15 yr aging), and the Reserva (25yr aging). I just wanted to note that only the select 900s are made to be able to use a floor corker. I do use a floor corker on the others however, you need to modify you corking technique, otherwise the skin will get a fold or score line. The way I get around this issue is by priming the corks with a slight squeeze in the corker jaws. I do this 4-5 times doing a quarter turn after each. After using this technique, I’ve never had an issue with scoring the thicker/denser nomacorcs(especially the Green select 100,300 and Reserva).

It’s hard to find anything other than the 900s for home winemakers (due the the floor corker issue). I found on Crush2Cellar, Nomacorc Green Select 300s in 100 quantity bags.

One last note, the select 100,300 and Reserva, are a bit more difficult to take out with an average corkscrew. It’s not the heating of the capsule issue but they are so dense it creates a tighter seal. I’ve chipped tops of wine bottles trying to get Reserva out with just a cheap server corkscrews.

Interesting comment. I use the Select Green 300s and a Ferrari floor corker. It does leave a slight mark on the corks, but I've not had a leak. I've never used the "Reserva" version. But I'm very pleased with the Normacorcs overall. And sampling a 2019 Tempranillo bottled with a Normacorc that is quite nice. I am considering going back to the 900's just because that's the Normacorc recommendation for home winemakers. I have no pretense that I'll be drinking my wine 25 years from now. A solid 15 would be OK. But for sure, the 900s would be fine for white wines that you drink in a year or two.

 

[winemaker81]

The 900's are rated for 5 years, so my guess is that realistically we can reasonably count on 7 years. This is sufficient for my purposes.

 

[winemanden]

Synthetic corks will give you trouble with extended aging. They really like to bond to the bottle. As me how I know.

You're right! I've buggered up three corkscrews trying to get the damned things out.