Hi
I am new to winemaking and was wondering if i could use corks that have
been used in bought supermarket wine bottles...I have kept plastic ones
and Cork...If so which would be best..
Cal..


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Cal Mac wrote:

Hi
I am new to winemaking and was wondering if i could use corks that have
been used in bought supermarket wine bottles...I have kept plastic ones
and Cork...If so which would be best..
Cal..



Droopy wrote:

Do you use a corkscrew to take them out? If so do not bother, you have
ruined the integrity of the cork. If you use an Ah So you could reuse
them, although the seal would be completely inferior to that of a fresh
cork. Compare one of your used corks to that of a new cork and you
will see how the bottle neck deforms the cork becasue of the pressure.
A used cork is already deformed in that way....and will not seal as
tight.

So really, do not even bother. New corks are cheap.

They are cheap. You would ruin your wine by re-using corks. Even with the plastic stoppers you run a high risk of bacterial infection in the wine. You would also have a lot of leakage.

Cal Mac wrote:
Hi
I am new to winemaking and was wondering if i could use corks that have
been used in bought supermarket wine bottles...I have kept plastic ones
and Cork...If so which would be best..
Cal..

A bunch of corks costs about $4.00. Why would you want to risk $60 or
more of wine just to save $4.00, even if the risks were small (which
they aren't)?

Old corks will have been sitting around and are likely full of bacteria
and old wine. They were likely damaged by a corkscrew which makes them
unsuitable for reuse. More importantly, they're compressed from the old
bottle and won't expand to give you a proper seal.

Saving money on corks by using substandard or used ones is one of the
falsest forms of false economy I can think of.

wd41

Murray Clark wrote:
They are cheap. You would ruin your wine by re-using corks. Even with the plastic stoppers you run a high risk of bacterial infection in the wine. You would also have a lot of leakage.


Bacterial infection would not be my biggest worry though. I cannot
think of a really compelling reason to think that used corks have a
higher risk of bacterial contamination than new corks. i mean they are
exposed to the same air and dirt. And I assume that you would soak old
and new corks in sulfite and make sure wine sulfite levels are
adequate.

I guess the used corks could have wine in the cork that would invite
bacteria to take a hold while being stored though. Also with the
inferior sel that they create that may aloow the wine to be exposed to
oxygen levels high enough for acetobacter growth.

Anyway you cut it I would not risk it unless civilization ended and I
really needed to cork some wines.

As others have said, don't do that. Wine can live a long time in a
properly closed bottle, don't risk losing it. I use Nomacorq for the
most part, it's synthetic and seems like a great closure so far.

Joe

Droopy wrote:

Murray Clark wrote:


They are cheap. You would ruin your wine by re-using corks. Even with the plastic stoppers you run a high risk of bacterial infection in the wine. You would also have a lot of leakage.




Bacterial infection would not be my biggest worry though. I cannot
think of a really compelling reason to think that used corks have a
higher risk of bacterial contamination than new corks. i mean they are
exposed to the same air and dirt. And I assume that you would soak old
and new corks in sulfite and make sure wine sulfite levels are
adequate.

Used corks have old wine on them. Once the alcohol evaporates mold and fungus can move in. As far as soaking corks in sulfite- I've never done it. Cork will absorb chemicals and the quality of the cork could suffer. I boil corks and use them immediately.
Exposing wine to air also exposes it to extra unwanted yeast in the air.

I boil corks and use them immediately.

Murray,
Boiling corks may actually harden them prematurely; just spritzing them
with sulfite seems effective for me. I keep a spray bottle premixed
with a 1% solution of sulfite on hand for this among other things. I
keep corks in the original bag and keep them tightly closed, I have
stored corks for 2 to 3 years before getting through all of them with
no ill effects.

Joe

All the other replies and dangers being read and UNDERSTOOD, I would say
your less risky cork to reuse is a synthetic that you've not pierced all the
way through. If you've pierced through or close to it, no way.

I've bottled a few with reused synthetic when the shop was closed on Sunday
and had no ill effects. I've also consumed those bottles within a year,
soaked the cork in a sulfite solution and made sure to place the unpierced
end towards the vino.
"Cal Mac" wrote in message
news:1375e8c5e174d63866378ee458bfa02d.90780@mygate .mailgate.org...
Hi
I am new to winemaking and was wondering if i could use corks that have
been used in bought supermarket wine bottles...I have kept plastic ones
and Cork...If so which would be best..
Cal..


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