How do screw caps do for longer term storage/bottle aging..... compared to
cork?
Yeah, I know they don't allow for the minimal air transfer in and out, but I
wonder just how "air tight" they really are.

Robert

They are supposed to have a better air seal and a longer life than
corks.

They just are not very romantic.

And.. my cork screw is hard to get into them.

Droopy wrote:
They are supposed to have a better air seal and a longer life than
corks.

They just are not very romantic.

That whole air transfer story is probably not correct anyway. If a
corked bottle is stored properly with a quality cork and the seal is
good there is no reason or way for air to get in.

The better machine applied screw caps are often considered to be good
wine closures. Cheap plastic ones may not be good for several years.
There is a better plastic one but I don't use it for wine so have no
opinion on it. It is reusable and has an inner plastic seal, I use it
on vinegar.

All that said, I am using Nomacorq now and really like them. I have no
idea how long they are good for, the literature says 3 years as I
recall.
Joe

Bigger problem is getting new screw caps. In general, each type of
screw top bottle uses a different top.

For example, I cannot find new tops for Wild Vines bottles. New tops
for Arbor Mist bottles (unless they have changed in the last 2-3
years) are available from many wine making shops.

Steve


On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 22:37:37 GMT, "Robert Lewis"
wrote:

How do screw caps do for longer term storage/bottle aging..... compared to
cork?
Yeah, I know they don't allow for the minimal air transfer in and out, but I
wonder just how "air tight" they really are.

Robert

Ray, I thought air could and did travel slowly through the cork itself.

Everything I have read says the newer screw caps are best at this and
the synthetics are worst.

Now the debate is whether complete closure is always desirable.

A number of studies have shown that screw caps are superior to corks or any
other seal. But all the studies used special screw caps that are NOT
screwed on. They are molded on the bottle by a special machine. The
machine is VERY expensive and no home winemaker is going to have one.

So how good are the types of screw caps you would have access to? No one
knows.

Ray

"Robert Lewis" wrote in message
link.net...
How do screw caps do for longer term storage/bottle aging..... compared to
cork?
Yeah, I know they don't allow for the minimal air transfer in and out, but
I wonder just how "air tight" they really are.

Robert

On Thu, 01 Dec 2005 23:44:53 GMT, "Ray Calvert"
wrote:

A number of studies have shown that screw caps are superior to corks or any
other seal. But all the studies used special screw caps that are NOT
screwed on. They are molded on the bottle by a special machine. The
machine is VERY expensive and no home winemaker is going to have one.

So how good are the types of screw caps you would have access to? No one
knows.

Ray


Ray:

Not only don't we know about them, but thy also fit very few
commercial screw top bottles.

Steve

Ray -

I heard Randal Graham (winemaker at Bonny Doon, a now all
screw-cap winery) speak about a month ago, including answering a
question on screwcaps. His studies have shown that screwcaps aren't
truly airtight, but they are much tighter seals than corks, so they
slow down whatever the aging process that may go on in the bottle. How
much slower he couldn't and wouldn't say, and he made no claim on
synthetic cork. He did seriously badmouth agglomerated corks (as did a
couple other winemakers).

Air certainly can get through a cork, just as it can get through a
barrel.

Steve wrote:
"Ray Calvert" wrote:

A number of studies have shown that screw caps are superior
to corks or any other seal. But all the studies used special
screw caps that are NOT screwed on. They are molded on the
bottle by a special machine. The machine is VERY expensive
and no home winemaker is going to have one.

So how good are the types of screw caps you would have access
to? No one knows.

Not only don't we know about them, but thy also fit very few
commercial screw top bottles.

Alas there is the Carlo Rossi screw cap 4 litre bottle. You
transfer the contents to two 2 litre soda bottles, label them,
and give them as presents. Sanitize the bottle and the cap and
you have a winner.

I use them as 4L carboys.

Dick

Alas there is the Carlo Rossi screw cap 4 litre bottle.

But if you can't find any empties, you gotta drink the stuff
first!...uggh!

Buy some Carlo Rossi Chablis. Add oak chips. Afer a month bottle. Not bad
Chardonnay. Plus, you have a nice gallon bottle for winemaking. I've used
Carlo Rossi Chablis to test different types and amounts of oak cubes, chips,
extract, etc. Works quite well.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

wrote in message
oups.com...
Alas there is the Carlo Rossi screw cap 4 litre bottle.

But if you can't find any empties, you gotta drink the stuff
first!...uggh!

wrote:

Alas there is the Carlo Rossi screw cap 4 litre bottle.

But if you can't find any empties, you gotta drink the stuff
first!...uggh!

The bad news is I went to two liquor stores and put up notices
that I would pay $2 each for empties - no takers.

Dick

I buy that stuff to cook with.

I have a ton of 4 liter bottles that I got from the recycling bins
here. I stopped grabbing them I have so many. I might have to revisit
that though since I do not make as many 5-6 gallon batches
anymore....once you get 5 gallons of 10 different wines bottled they
start to build up year after year after year...plus a lot of wine I
make anymore you really don't need more than 5 bottles of.....like
parsley wine.

Wow. Reading the thread and see your note. I use Carlo Rossi Chablis for
Sangria during the summer. But I like Chardonnay with lots of buttery
and oaky taste. How much oak chips do you use?
This sounds cool. DAve

William Frazier wrote:
Buy some Carlo Rossi Chablis. Add oak chips. Afer a month bottle. Not bad
Chardonnay. Plus, you have a nice gallon bottle for winemaking. I've used
Carlo Rossi Chablis to test different types and amounts of oak cubes, chips,
extract, etc. Works quite well.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

wrote in message
oups.com...

Alas there is the Carlo Rossi screw cap 4 litre bottle.

But if you can't find any empties, you gotta drink the stuff
first!...uggh!