<<<...the Gilda by Ferrari. It's not the easiest to use, but it works
well once you get the hang of it.>>>

That's right. Once you get the hang of a Gilda corker, it is a rather
easy and inexpensive device and it definitely beats the heck out of a
hand plunger corker. I practiced with a few corks before I actually got
the hang of it. There were no real instructions included.

The way to use the Gilda, which works for me, is to squeez the handles
together tightly. I then place the corker onto the bottle, release my
grip of the handles, and force down the lever. (When you let go of the
handles, they should stay in place instead of loosening and dropping
the cork.)

The trick is to (1) do not keep a grip on the handles, otherwise the
cork usually only goes half way in, and (2) push the lever with a
constant thrust, like starting an easy start gasoline engine, only your
pushing instead of pulling.

I've also found that wet corks (soaked in sulphite solution for 15
minutes or so) go in easier. These are #9 corks I used. The #8 corks
insert well when dry.

You'll know you have the hang of it when you hear a distinctive vacumn
of air sound.

Joe Sallustio wrote:
> When using a hand corker most people use a 1.5" to 1.75" long cork
and
> they are hard enough to seat properly with that style corker. You
may
> want to consider upgrading the corker to a floor or bench style or
buy
> the shorter corks.
>
> 2" corks are usually reserved for premium wine that wil undergo a
very
> prolonged bottle aging. That said, 2" corks are usually premium
> quality, low issue corks.
>
> Squeeze the corks; do they give a little or are they like squeezing a
> 2 by 4? If they are pretty hard, you may want to consider rinsing
> them a few times with hot water and draining well, them waiting about
> 10 minutes. They will soften up. (Do it with 1 or 2 as an
> experiment.) If that is the case, the place you got them may not
> store them properly and allowed them to dry out. (They should go it
> easily dry).
>
> There is one good inexpensive hand corker out there, the Gilda by
> Ferrari. It's not the easiest to use, but it works well once you get
> the hang of it.
>
> Considering the way a cork gets compressed before insertion is a good
> way to determine corker quality. If it has an iris that uniformly
> compresses the cork prior to driving it into the neck it usually
works
> much better that the tunnel type I think you are using. Most home
> winemaker style corkers are not set up to compress a 2" cork. They
> can only compress up to a 1 3/4", make sure you are ok if you want to
> use those corks.
>
> A bench or floor corker is anywhere from $35 to $85 (US) and is well
> worth it if you are into winemaking to stay.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Regards,
> Joe

<<<...the Gilda by Ferrari. It's not the easiest to use, but it works
well once you get the hang of it.>>>

That's right. Once you get the hang of a Gilda corker, it is a rather
easy and inexpensive device and it definitely beats the heck out of a
hand plunger corker. I practiced with a few corks before I actually got
the hang of it. There were no real instructions included.

The way to use the Gilda, which works for me, is to squeez the handles
together tightly. I then place the corker onto the bottle, release my
grip of the handles, and force down the lever. (When you let go of the
handles, they should stay in place instead of loosening and dropping
the cork.)

The trick is to (1) do not keep a grip on the handles, otherwise the
cork usually only goes half way in, and (2) push the lever with a
constant thrust, like starting an easy start gasoline engine, only your
pushing instead of pulling.

I've also found that wet corks (soaked in sulphite solution for 15
minutes or so) go in easier. These are #9 corks I used. The #8 corks
insert well when dry.

You'll know you have the hang of it when you hear a distinctive vacumn
of air sound.

Joe Sallustio wrote:
> When using a hand corker most people use a 1.5" to 1.75" long cork
and
> they are hard enough to seat properly with that style corker. You
may
> want to consider upgrading the corker to a floor or bench style or
buy
> the shorter corks.
>
> 2" corks are usually reserved for premium wine that wil undergo a
very
> prolonged bottle aging. That said, 2" corks are usually premium
> quality, low issue corks.
>
> Squeeze the corks; do they give a little or are they like squeezing a
> 2 by 4? If they are pretty hard, you may want to consider rinsing
> them a few times with hot water and draining well, them waiting about
> 10 minutes. They will soften up. (Do it with 1 or 2 as an
> experiment.) If that is the case, the place you got them may not
> store them properly and allowed them to dry out. (They should go it
> easily dry).
>
> There is one good inexpensive hand corker out there, the Gilda by
> Ferrari. It's not the easiest to use, but it works well once you get
> the hang of it.
>
> Considering the way a cork gets compressed before insertion is a good
> way to determine corker quality. If it has an iris that uniformly
> compresses the cork prior to driving it into the neck it usually
works
> much better that the tunnel type I think you are using. Most home
> winemaker style corkers are not set up to compress a 2" cork. They
> can only compress up to a 1 3/4", make sure you are ok if you want to
> use those corks.
>
> A bench or floor corker is anywhere from $35 to $85 (US) and is well
> worth it if you are into winemaking to stay.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Regards,
> Joe