Corks or Screw top?

[Triker]

Just a thought.
What do you prefer.

Corks have a little class about them but they are no so user friendly as screw tops !

Or is that just me :whistle:

 

[graysalchemy]

White wine screw tops anything to be aged for a year ie red and port Corks :thumb:

 

[PD]

The problem with corks for long time storage is that they have to be kept damp so as not to dry out and end up being pushed into the wine bottle when extracting or crumbling around the corkscrew. This means they have to be stored lying down and you have to build some kind of shelf to stop them rolling about. The new plastic corks or screw tops allow the bottles to be placed upright on a flat shelf or put into cardboard boxes.
And the trees are not happy with having all their coats removed periodically

 

[graysalchemy]

Yes they do need to be stored horizontal but its not usually a problem if you are brewing 30 or so bottles. I once had an elderberry wine collection of about 400 bottles all rack horizontally in age classes in my shed. :whistle: :whistle:




Then the kids came along and I stopped brewing and it is all gone now. :lol:

 

[PD]

I agree not not much of a problem, as really its not a problem if you take the view that beer/wine making is your hobby.
I use to have a 12 x 10 shed filled with rows of wooden square trellising made racks filled with corked wine bottles. Most enjoyable. At the back went the Blackberry Ports etc. as they were a bugger to reach and you ended leaving them to mature much longer... The fruit juice wines and quick easy drinkers were to the front, and were easily replaced !
I once had a nice row of Port at the back and for some reason one square trellis hole had got missed and was unfilled. A Robin decided to make her nest there ( entry via a small hole in the shed wall. ) The Port and Robin family matured over the year.

 

[Barfly99]

Building up as many screw top bottles as I can. Got around 200 so far. When I get around 400 or so I'll stop collecting the bottles and just ask for family members to keep the tops to replace mine when they start to wear. Only went for screw tops as my family all drink new world wine.

 

[bobsbeer]

Screw tops for me. Used some of mine over 20 times and still going good. I get friends to collect more caps and replace the paper insert ones with plastic as they last longer.

 

[mikey1967]

so am I right in thinking that I can reuse bottles as long as I change caps every so often? and I can still put foil over them to make them look good for when got the folks round other than that luv the idea of sticking wine in magners bottle and capping so its a pint in fridge for small glass mid week

I am making fruit, rose and white wines and also as the first 2 I have made went down great with the family I cant see me holding them for much longer than a few months :grin:

 

[MadrikXIV]

Seems to be so few bottles of wine in the shops with 'Corks', or rather in my price frame.

Building a collection of screw tops, would use corks, but reports on here say screw tops have a bigger neck so corks don't fit so well.

Did confuse a mate, gave them a bottle of homebrew, they peeled the foil off, ready for a cork, glad he didn't go the lazy route and just stick the corkscrew through lid and foil

 

[Megaross]

Corks without fail, always cork. Don't trust screwtops.

I just bag my wines up in carrier bags horizontal and pile up the bags, don't have any fancy racking or anything.

 

[Gayle]

so am I right in thinking that I can reuse bottles as long as I change caps every so often?

yes as long as you check the bottle for signs of wear :thumb: I've had a few bottles that had very minor cracks or chips, and they could break very easily. The neck of one bottle (before I started checking every bottle properly) must have been cracked as I put a crown cap on it and it immediately smashed.

Screw top bottles tend to be thinner, therefore lighter and cheaper to buy and ship. Cork as a natural resource is also running low, and probably getting more expensive. The cheaper wineries will save more by converting to screw tops, but I doubt there is much of a difference really, unless aging for many years. I would love some corks for my mead :)

 

[Gayle]

Is it necessary to have a corking tool thing? I have some lovely bottles that take corks, but they refuse to be crown-capped or take a plastic reusable cork - could I just whack the corks in with a rubber mallet or heavy book or something? I would only be doing 6 bottles at a time.

 

[Barfly99]

Is it necessary to have a corking tool thing? I have some lovely bottles that take corks, but they refuse to be crown-capped or take a plastic reusable cork - could I just whack the corks in with a rubber mallet or heavy book or something? I would only be doing 6 bottles at a time.

Go to Natures Way on the Newtownards Road in Belfast. You'll pick up a plastic corker for a couple of quid. Saves you risking losing a bottle of plonk. Failing that, just go for the screw tops. They're easier and do the same job.

 

[bobsbeer]

You need a corking tool really. Whacking with a mallet will damage the corks before you get them in. But the Novatwist screwcaps are the way forward. These can be stored upright and can be kept for years. Check out the thread The Future Has Arrived. I still have them in stock.

 

[stevie1556]

I use screw caps. Tried using plastic corks for my first few batches, and didn't really like them.

Gayle - I believe the only way to do it successfully is to use a corking tool.