Had a bad experience of corking bottles.

[Richie_asg1]

I had a terrible time corking my last batch of 30 bottles. Please tell me where I am going wrong.

I've bought a Ferrari corker - two handled with a circular spring that grips the bottles. This seems to work well, but it's the corks which are letting me down.
I had various corks to use up as I'd just bought a large bag of short composite corks.
They were Boots brand (years old), some unknown brand that were not good quality, and a long foam plastic type (surplus from 2012 from some vineyard stock).

I've always been told to boil the corks for a few minutes to sterilise them, and this seems to be where the problems start.
The cheap corks crumbled as they went in - leaving cork residues in the corker, so the next time I did a bottle it would push that crap in there.
The foam plastic ones went in ok, but the tops extruded out and wouldn't come fully out of the corker in one hit. Trying again pushed the cork too far in and still had bits of plastic sticking out.
The composite corks worked the best, but looked funny with a white slime on them.

I know I'm doing something wrong, but how do you sterilise corks that want to float on sterilising solution?

Worst bottling day yet.

 

[DavieC]

Hi Richie, sounds like you've had a nightmare there. I use corks from LHBS, I just give them a spray of starsan and haven't had any problems so maybe it was just your corks?

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

I just dunk them in the sterilising solution, they get a good coating which I think is enough considering the wines done anyway

 

[VW911]

Most corks these days state "Do Not Soak".
I just give mine a quick dunk in steriliser, and a quick rinse.

 

[An Ankoù]

See above:
I use a corker which is a bit simpler than that to cork some of my beers and then put a champagne cage over the top. That's the way a lot of the beer comes over here and the bottles won't take a crown cap anyway. I bought some beer corks from the likes of Malt Miller and they're a kind of composite. If I buy a bottle of La Goudale or Trois Monts, I save the bottle and then cork and I've found that the corks can be used many times over. If it's a pre-used cork. I'll let it float around a bit in some metabisulphite solution, but there's no question of boiling them. A new bag of corks has recommendations that they be inserted dry. I can only conclude that the corks you're using are not up to the mark. (ie. crap).

 

[Richie_asg1]

From what you've said I will stop using heat. That seems to make them swell up and if they are filled - all the filling falls out. I think that is where I'm going wrong.
That just leaves sanitising so I will go with you guys and use cold campden tablets in water as a dunk.

Just annoying that something that seems so simple can give so much frustration.
I've got the same corker as pictured above. Does the main plunger that contacts the cork have any kind of cap on it? Mine is jut straight, but smaller than the top of the cork. I wondered if that may be the problem if I'm missing a bit.

 

[An Ankoù]

From what you've said I will stop using heat. That seems to make them swell up and if they are filled - all the filling falls out. I think that is where I'm going wrong.
That just leaves sanitising so I will go with you guys and use cold campden tablets in water as a dunk.

Just annoying that something that seems so simple can give so much frustration.
I've got the same corker as pictured above. Does the main plunger that contacts the cork have any kind of cap on it? Mine is jut straight, but smaller than the top of the cork. I wondered if that may be the problem if I'm missing a bit.

I'll have a look at mine in the morning, but I don't think so. It's just a cylinder that pushes the cork through a tapered tunnel and into the bottle neck. It really does sound as if you need better corks.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have never corked bottles as it seems a lot of hassle when you can use screw tops, I got 30 screw top bottles and novatwist caps (see thread in this forum)

 

[Richie_asg1]

Cheers.
I know I can go to screw caps, but there is just something about corks that makes opening a bottle more of an occasion.
I stuck all the labels on with milk yesterday evening. This morning they had all fallen off again. I think I added a bit of PVA last time and that worked better.

 

[user 23136]

Recently, I have used 3 different types of cork:
1) corks from my local brew shop (with bunches of grapes printed on them) - possibly Young's
2) corks from Wilkos
3) corks given by a neighbour - been in his shed for years

Results:
1) - usually quite good, these are waxed so you don't soak them
2) - all good
3) - older type with more 'air' in them - less reliable. And they tend to crumble when wine is opened.

If they need soaking, I put them into a Pyrex jug of boiling water weighted down with a small coffee cup

As to corking, I have found one of these very good and simple to use. Bought mine from the brew shop, and sure I did not pay a tenner for it!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hand-Cor...-Straight-Corks-To-Wine-Bottles-/280897880620
Hope that's of some help

 

[Richie_asg1]

So if you don't soak, what sanitiser do you use and how?

 

[user 23136]

Steriliser solution: 2 tsp citric acid + 6 campden tablets in 500ml water.

Just a quick dunk in this before popping into the corker.

 

[Drunkula]

So if you don't soak, what sanitiser do you use and how?

Starsan. Put some in a bowl and dunk and roll.

Wilko corks had a reputation for being absolute crap last time I looked. The falling apart thing was what the complaints were.

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Heaped tsp of VWP dissolved in a small bowl of warm water then

dunk and roll.

 

[Richie_asg1]

Got it

Have another 3 demijohns to bottle so will see how the next 18 bottles go.
In a way I'm glad I've discovered what I'm doing wrong as that is the first step to improving.