Hi all, whats the procedure for corking bottles? How long should the corks
be soaked for prior to corking? Should they steep in tap water or Sodium
Metabisulphide?

McK.

"C. U. Jimmy" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all, whats the procedure for corking bottles? How long should the corks
> be soaked for prior to corking? Should they steep in tap water or Sodium
> Metabisulphide?
>
> McK.
Wine corks are sold in large, sealed polyethylene bags containing one
thousand corks. The corks are sterilized with sulfur dioxide gas when
packaged, and they remain sterile until the bag is opened. The water
content of the corks is carefully adjusted just before packaging, and the
humidity in the bags is carefully controlled. Corks taken from a sealed bag
are soft and pliable. They can be driven easily, and they quickly conform
to bottle and form a tight seal. Dry corks should be driven whenever
possible. But, many small corking machines cannot adequately compress dry
corks, so softening corks is often necessary.
The normal procedure is to soak hard corks in cold water until they become
soft enough to drive with the corker available. A pinch of sulfite can be
added to the water to help sterilize the corks as they are soaking. Very
wet corks are undesirable because excessive "cork water" will be left when
the corks are driven into the bottle. Cork water can be avoided by soaking
corks for a few hours, and then the corks are covered with a clean cloth and
drained overnight.

Lum Eisenman wrote:

> "C. U. Jimmy" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi all, whats the procedure for corking
>> bottles? How long should the corks be soaked
>> for prior to corking? Should they steep in tap
>> water or Sodium Metabisulphide?
>>
>> McK.
> Wine corks are sold in large, sealed
> polyethylene bags containing one
> thousand corks. The corks are sterilized with
> sulfur dioxide gas when
> packaged, and they remain sterile until the bag
> is opened. The water content of the corks is
> carefully adjusted just before packaging, and
> the
> humidity in the bags is carefully controlled.
> Corks taken from a sealed bag
> are soft and pliable. They can be driven
> easily, and they quickly conform
> to bottle and form a tight seal. Dry corks
> should be driven whenever
> possible. But, many small corking machines
> cannot adequately compress dry corks, so
> softening corks is often necessary. The normal
> procedure is to soak hard corks in cold water
> until they become
> soft enough to drive with the corker available.
> A pinch of sulfite can be
> added to the water to help sterilize the corks
> as they are soaking. Very wet corks are
> undesirable because excessive "cork water" will
> be left when
> the corks are driven into the bottle. Cork
> water can be avoided by soaking corks for a few
> hours, and then the are covered with a
> clean cloth and drained overnight.

As a side note:
I buy my corks from:
ACI Cork USA 707 426 3566

They sell commercially but will also sell to us
amateurs. I am not trying to promote their
company but I have been very happy with their
service.

You do NOT have to by one thousand corks at a
time. They will ship any quantity you desire in
the same SO2 sealed bag. They will also print
what you want on your corks at no extra charge.
You can choose quality and lengths.

I have been using their corks for about 5 years
now with absolutely no problems.

On Oct 5, 6:10*am, "C. U. Jimmy" > wrote:
> Hi all, whats the procedure for corking bottles? How long should the corks
> be soaked for prior to corking? Should they steep in tap water or Sodium
> Metabisulphide?
>
> McK.


If you are going to soak your corks, and then age the wine, you might
want to use a water source that does not contain chlorine, or else
boil tapwater, let it cool, and sulphite it.

"Cork taint" comes from chemical that is produced when a bacteria
(that loves to live in cardboard, wood, and corks) has contact with
chlorine, and just a few molecules can have some impact on the wine.