I'm suffering from Seepage.

[Bill Berry]

I guess it comes with age but sadly this seems to have caught me on the hop.

I bottled about 60 bottles of elderberry port about three months ago and bottled about 50 bottles of elderberry wine. It had all sat on a rack behaving quite nicely until a couple of weeks ago when we got that hot spell of weather (you know the one. It lasted about a week and was sandwiched in the middle of four weeks of rain).

At the end of this hot spell I noticed beads of wine on the shrinks of some of the wine bottles and today, a couple of weeks later, I noticed four of the bottles of port had also seeped under their shrinks. I've opened the worst one and that seems to be down to a faulty cork. The wine was corked using the silicon coated 'Favourite' corks. They were given a quick slosh in a campden solution (5 Tablets added to a pint of water) and then driven in using an Italian floor corker.

The Port was sealed in the same way but with natural untreated corks (it's possible that the seepage from the port is down to faulty corks). The bottles were a collection of supermarket empties and a few Youngs bottles.

It has been suggested (in the case of the wine) that the heat spell started to soften the silicon and that this was responsible for the seepage. I just wondered if it was usual to have a few bottles go like this or am I doing something wrong?

The bottles are stored in the garage on wine racks and the temperature is usually around 15-18 degrees C but obviously rose a bit during the hot spell.

The wine has no trace of gas in so internal pressure is not the issue. As this is the first time I've bottled wine I have no experience to fall back on.

Sorry if this is a rather stupid question but as I said I have no experience in this matter.

Thanks.

[Rich]

Hmm, it definitely sounds like you need to send the port to Scotland to mature.. Not much of a charge for storage, but can't ensure you'd get any back.

How much air space under the cork had you left? Although this space isn't under the cork when laid on their side, the amount of air gives it a cushion as it is more compressible the the wine. Not enough and the wine will find a way out, too much and it'll spoil the wine! Of course it could be down to your corks. I've used favourites before and not really had a problem, except I just give them a spray with 10% sulphite solution rather than soak them.

[modofodo]

I haven't got anything useful to add, but I thought I'd tell you that I almost spat ale over the laptop when I read the title and first line of your post.

[Bill Berry]

Thanks for the replies, guys. As far as the air gap goes I leave 10 - 20mm beneath the cork.

I talked over the possibility of moving all the booze to Scotland as you suggested Rich but the misses seems to favour drink anything that seems to be leaking. In the interests of science, obviously. So sadly I'll have to pass on your kind offer.

I only give the corks a couple of seconds in the sterilizing solution so I doubt it is responsible but maybe I should try making it a little weaker?

As for you, modofodo, I hope you've updated the 'what's in your glass tonight' thread.

Cheers guys, have a good weekend.

[medpretzel]

How long did you have them standing upright before you laid them down? With any type of cork, I usually try to let them stand for about 48 hours. Overkill, most say (24 hours is normal), but I usually try for more. Just in case.

[rjb222]

I think it was the rise in temperature and residual CO2. My theory is based on this. CO2 even when stirred off will only let go of the wine molecules at the temperature the wine is at. If a wine temperature rises above that then the CO2 that was not stirred off because it was done at a lower temperature will then release it's self. This will push corks and also make corks leak. In my mind the temperature we think we are degassed at should be higher 75-80 deg.this insures the total release of the CO2 any temperature lower than that and there will be CO2 left behind. Just a theory.

[medpretzel]

Come to think of it, I've had various (of the same type) corks push out for no apparent reason. Maybe it's the same problem. Are all bottles with the same corks seeping? Usually they bag the corks of the same "vintage"/production. Another thought - are all bottle necks of the same size?

M.

[Bill Berry]

Hi guys, the bottles were from various sources so it's possible possible that the neck sizes were slightly different. I've drunk my way through most of the port that seeped and these seem to have faulty natural, untreated corks in them.

Once I've corked a bottle it usually stands for about three days before I lay it on the rack so I doubt this is the problem.

I don't degas the wine as I rack it several times and it stands in DJ under airlocks for about 3 or 4 months before I even think about bottling. I've never had any corks push out and I've never found the slightest gassiness in the wine.

I've kept an eye on the rest of the bottles and so far there haven't been any more leaks so maybe it was just down to a few dodgy corks and slightly oversized bottles?

Thanks for the comments, I still don't really know what's going on with the corks but many of the suggestions made had crossed my mind. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Cheers!

[rjb222]

Bottle necks stretch over time as well there is a coating on all corks that is put on as a lubricant that can cause corks to slip on an older bottle particularly if they had a synthetic closure in at one time synthetics actually have a different lubricant applied that can cause cork to slip. I still am betting on heat expansion. Volume expands when the temperature rises. This is why i am also thinking residual CO2. Co2 expands quicker than oxygen and it will pressurize a space very quickly when released. You do not need to have a noticeable amount of CO2 to the tongue to have this happen.

[Bill Berry]

Thanks rjb222, I was unaware of the lubricant factor on older bottles. Some of the bottles I use certainly had synthetic corks originally. I agree that heat seems to be the motivating influence behind the leaking bottles. I think I will try and store the bottles closer to the floor in order to try and keep them as cool as possible in my storage area.

Thanks for the info.