Most of my cork problems were caused by the corker. The Portugese
corker with the synthetic iris doesn't squeeze the corks tight enough,
often either puncturing them or creasing the sides. I switched to the
Italian floor corker with the brass iris and have had no problems. I
insert the corks dry, but store in a sulfite humididor.

Tim
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "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
> > >
> > >