sealing bottles
 

boy, you'd think I have nothing better to do but think up questions
all day.....

anyway, while reading some older posts. I noticed someone mentioning
sealing their corked bottles with beeswax.

to me that sounded like a good idea, although i'd probably just use
normal parafin. any pro's/con's?

sealing bottles
 

There's no reason to seal your bottles. Some do it for cosmetic
reasons, but it's purely optional.

sealing bottles
 

"Tater" > wrote in message
ups.com...

> anyway, while reading some older posts. I noticed someone mentioning
> sealing their corked bottles with beeswax.
> to me that sounded like a good idea, although i'd probably just use
> normal parafin. any pro's/con's?

I guess there may be some advantage if you were going to store it
for 100 years, but mine never lasts that long. SWMBO starts drinking
it as soon as it's decent.
Since I haven't seen any commercial wineries that do it, I'd have to
guess it's not necessary.

sealing bottles
 

> Since I haven't seen any commercial wineries that do it, I'd have to
> guess it's not necessary.

They used to do that to keep the mold from growing on a cork when
stored in the damp, like a cave. Same reason they used lead
capsules.

Joe

sealing bottles
 

Joe Sallustio wrote:

>
>> Since I haven't seen any commercial wineries
>> that do it, I'd have to guess it's not
>> necessary.
>
> They used to do that to keep the mold from
> growing on a cork when
> stored in the damp, like a cave. Same reason
> they used lead capsules.
>
> Joe

I use bottle wax on wine I plan to age a year or
more. The trick is to use the right temperature.
If you get it too hot, the wax will stick to the
bottle and you have a tough time getting it off.
High temperature can also de-color the wax. If
you have patience and heat the wax slowly, you
can get it off easily by just slipping a knife
blade underneath and slipping it off. It can
then be re-used.

sealing bottles
 

"Tater" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> boy, you'd think I have nothing better to do but think up questions
> all day.....
>
> anyway, while reading some older posts. I noticed someone mentioning
> sealing their corked bottles with beeswax.
>
> to me that sounded like a good idea, although i'd probably just use
> normal parafin. any pro's/con's?
>

It's to protect the cork and stop it from drying out, shrinking, crumbling
etc. Pretty much the same reason that wine is stored tilted over so that the
wine is in contact with the cork on the inside of the bottle. If the cork is
allowed to degrade, you get bits of crap in your wine and create the
possibility of air/bacteria getting in and ruining the wine.

Mike

Mike

sealing bottles
 

> "Tater" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>> boy, you'd think I have nothing better to do but think up questions
>> all day.....
>>
>> anyway, while reading some older posts. I noticed someone mentioning
>> sealing their corked bottles with beeswax.
>>
>> to me that sounded like a good idea, although i'd probably just use
>> normal parafin. any pro's/con's?
>>

Paraffin is a lot cheaper.