Thread: Mold on cork
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[email protected] marcortins@verizon.net is offline
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Default Mold on cork

On Dec 19, 9:54 am, wrote:
> I have been noticeing on some of my older bottles of wine espeacially
> on the clear glass bottles that there is a bit of blueish gray color
> between the cork and bottle neck.. My wines are sulfited and I'm not
> really noticeing any off tastes in the wine yet, but am concerned...
> These are some heavier fruit wines that have been in the bottles for 3
> full years and are really starting to get good... Any advice,
> sugestions, preventative measures welcome...


I have seen similar things with some port bottles. My first question
is: what type of corks are you using? my second question is: is it
possible that you left a wine residue on the top of the cork? Once
the sufite reacts off, any remaining wine on the outside surface of
the cork could certainly mold up if mold is in the air. Remedy
options 1) clean the corks and bottle tops with b-brite or something.
Possiblly use a light solution of bleach as a last resort 2) remove
the corks and replace them with new corks. Before removing the old
cork, use a 10% bleach solution to kill anything there. Let the
bleach stand wet for 10 minutes, then rinse well. This will prevent
contanimation into the new closure.
If you are really worried, option 2 is the most conservative, but 1 is
pretty easy and you can do them all at once.
BTW, how do you know that it is mold? Maybe it is mildew. Maybe it is
dried seepage past the cork? you could see the latter since it is a
clear glass bottle.