I like the 1 +1's also, but after a year or so they are sometimes hard
to extract. I think if you want to use them in other than a floor
corker you may want to lube the jaws with glycerin, they are stiff.

I tested Supremecorq and liked them, with the qualification you should
bump your SO2 at least 10 PPM. I lost that within 3 months, but it
stayed constant over 5 years.

I am testing Guardian, they go in loose and kind of scare me because
of that. It seals though...

I am testing NomaCorc, so far so good. (But it's early.)

I would much rather use naturals that were decent, but they are over
$0.30 each in lots of 1000 here and I think that is ridiculous. (I'm
willing to pay $0.20 for a good number 9 at 1 3/4", but >$300/1000 is
getting to be too much.)

I have tried a lot of naturals with some being gawd awful and some
being great. I squeeze them; if soft, they are decent, hard, I leave
them. The color should be very light tan, not dark.

Regards,
Joe






"Robert Lee" > wrote in message >...
> The Australian Wine Research Institute has been doing a large closure trial
> for a few years now, and, surprise, surprise, have really found that nothing
> is perfect!
>
> However, the best solution here I think is the 1+1 corks. My experience
> with hand corking with these though is that they tend to crease a bit at the
> bottom, thus exposing the agglomerate.
>
> Professionally, I have found them really good to use.
>
> Rob L
> "Joe Ae" > wrote in message
> news
> > I am curious what the folks on this forum think. I have looked at some
> > recent postings regarding corks. Most discussions I saw were focused on
> > synthetic versus cork.
> >
> > I have asked a couple of wine supply stores whether natural cork or
> > agglomerated cork are the better and sure enough I got a different answer.
> > The cost are very similar at these stores.
> > One vendor claimed the agglomerated corks are only for short term storage.
> > The natural corks can hold together for much longer storage. The longer
> > natural corks are the best for long term storage.
> > The other vendor told me natural corks can have defects due to the
> > manufacturing process he prefers agglomerated.
> >
> > Joe
> >
> >