Corking Champagne Bottles

[shadow47]

What's the easiest way to do this?

I've got a two handed corker for normal bottles, I was thinking maybe I could modify it somehow?

Or can anyone post a link so I can buy one? (cheapo one please, I've seen the floor corkers going for $160, not willing to pay that much).

I'm planning on making some sparkling wine, sticking it in a beer keg, carbonating with CO2, and then bottling into champagne bottles (I have plenty, my GF likes that cheap Cava from ASDA so I have like 25 bottles).

Or maybe I'm best bottling into 1 Litre PET bottles? (classy huh? lol)

Was thinking of something like a "Wurzels Champagne".

 

[Moley]

Plastic stoppers and a rubber mallet, together with wire cages, first couple of items on this page.

Or you could use 29mm crown caps on proper champagne bottles.

I use standard crown caps on clear 660ml cider bottles, which looks slightly better than brown beer bottles or plastic pop bottles.

Mostly though, I just serve it from the keg.

 

[shadow47]

Oh thanks :)

Can I not use proper corks though?

 

[Moley]

You can try it but they will probably need quite a bit of persuasion.

Back in a bit, I'll measure some internal diameters.


Cork: 22mm
Standard corked wine bottles: 18-19mm
Champagne bottles: 17-17.5mm
My two-handled corker's spout: 16.7mm

I tried driving a wetted cork into a champagne bottle and it went all the way home with no problem whatsoever.

 

[shadow47]

I tried driving a wetted cork into a champagne bottle and it went all the way home with no problem whatsoever.

Yeah I think I tried that a few weeks ago with a used champagne cork and a normal corker, it's still stuck inside my corker (due to laziness, I don't need to use it yet so I haven't removed it).

Don't you need those special tapered champagne corks?

I was thinking, my corker has a plastic thing in it that the corks get pushed through, if I could remove that and cut some of it off so the top of the champagne cork doesn't get stuck in the corker then maybe that would work? Would mean dismantling my corker though, might try it...

Also could I use a used champagne cork? If I treated it in a metabisulphite solution before use would it be ok?

 

[shadow47]

I might need to get my drill out and drill through this cork that's jammed in the corker to get it out .

 

[Moley]

No, you can't use (or re-use) Champagne corks, that's why they make plastic shampagne stoppers for the homebrew market.

 

[shadow47]

No, you can't use (or re-use) Champagne corks, that's why they make plastic shampagne stoppers for the homebrew market.

I read somewhere on the net (can't recall where), that when commercial wineries put the champagne corks into the bottles they just slide in no problem, then the moisture and high CO2 content makes them expand to the tapered bottle neck hence their shape, is this true?

Or are they shaped like that in the first place?

I guess it doesn't really matter, I just think it's better to open a bottle of champagne with real corks in them because they look nicer, and would be better as a gift.

 

[Moley]

I think they must be shaped like that in the first place, compressed and inserted by a totally different method, but I'm out of my depth here.

 

[shadow47]

Found this...

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/champagn ... orker.html


And here are the corks...


http://www.midwestsupplies.com/champagn ... 30-ct.html

Cannot find them for sale in the UK though

 

[tonyhibbett]

Champagne corks are cylindrical when new so easy to insert. Only UK supplier I found was Vigo, but min quantity 1000 @ £167 plus vat, plus corking/capping machine @£160, plus wire muzzles @ £41 per 1000. They also sell neck foils @ £60 per 1000. Plastic champagne stoppers and wire muzzles are readily available elsewhere in small quantities and are re-useable. If you soak the stoppers in hot water they can be easily inserted by hand, but you must leave a 6mm gap between base of stopper and surface of liquid to act as a pressure buffer and attach the muzzle immediately.

 

[tonyhibbett]

I just discovered the Zork STL wine stopper: www.zork.com.au. Take a look.