Corking Problem - Can you help please?

[Ange]

Morning Chaps,

So far, I've corked about 36 bottles, using one of those 2-level type machines. I've experienced 1 x bottle bomb, the cork popped (the other 5 bottles DIDN'T, they were fine...) and today I've had a racking and bottling morning - so far 3 of the 6 corks I've inserted haven't pushed fully home! I'm pretty sure the bottle that popped the cork the other week was similarly not pushed fully home. Why is this happening? How can I remedy this, other than remove the cork and re-insert, which I've done on one of the 3 and it STILL didn't push fully home? Getting annoyed now....

Ange
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[Cellar_Rat]

What sort of corking machine do you have please - it might be easiest to find a Google image and post the link here.
if it is a flaw corker, consider pausing for 10 seconds, just before you slide the cork in.

Believe it or not there is a lot going on with different corks and different neck sizes. It might be that the two you have are incompatible.

When you say bottle bomb - I presume it fired the cork out. This is more likely to be unstable wine than a corking problem IMO. Was the wine sulphite is and sorbated?

[Ange]

Hi cellar-rat,
It was stabilized - a few weeks back now and my memory isn't good..... None of the other 5 bottles from that batch have popped, not from any other batch either. I'm more concerned with these corks not fully pushed home though.

t_corker_2hand.jpg

One of these corkers.

Ange
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[SiSandrine]

Did you degas the wine? If there is a lot of residual CO2 then you put that under a lot of pressure when you insert the cork and it can push the cork back out.

[Ange]

Oh yes Simon ... Fully.

Ange
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[SiSandrine]

OK if you are concerned about the corks not fully inserted you can get a small piece of dowel wood and a hammer and hammer the corks in. I have one of these corkers and occasionally have the problem about fully inserting the corks and I use this method. The only time I had a cork pop back out though was with unstable wine as Brian says or when I hadn't degassed.

[Ange]

Some of these corks are also crooked at the bottom end (in the bottle) - even the ones that have pushed fully home. Should I be concerned about that?

Ange
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[Cellar_Rat]

I think we have two issues here.

1. Corks do not pop without pressure underneath them. They cannot 'work themselves out' it is a straight neck. Like you I have had corks that have only gone in 75% of the way. they have never come out - I leave them and drink them soonest. (far too tight to use to corks in one bottle of vino)
So something underneath them, namely the wine is producing a gas that is forcing the cork out. It would be interesting to open another one of the same batch and see if there was noticeable pressure underneath the Cork as you opened it.

2. If the corks are not going all the way home it is normally a sign that the cork is too big for the neck - or - the depth screw on the Corker needs adjusting. But I have no experience with this type of corker to be able to advise on that. What corks are you using and do you know if they are in Italian or other bottles. I can't remember which way round it is that I think Italian bottles have a tighter neck. Another thought - are these all the same batch of bottles? or are they individual ones which have been recycled?

Cork that fit almost anything are normacorks and the homebrew shop favourite which is tapered at both ends.

Sorry for all the questions. I spent a long time a couple of years ago going through lots of corks, lots of bottles and lots of corkers to try to establish what was going on.

hope some of this helps

[Original Mac]

Agree with all that has been said previously and here's my two penneth. It is possible that the corks are just too hard to be fully compressed by the corker. This can happen if the bag containing the corks is not tightly sealed with as much air as possible squeezed out between uses. Easy solution to too dry or hard corks is 10 seconds in microwave at full power. For the one that keeps popping out there is another cause apart from wine still fermenting/not degassed. If the bottle is not filled enough you compress air as you cork and this back pressure can cause popping. If you fill to within a centimeter of where the cork will finish most of the air in the bottle neck will be forced out past the cork as the wine cannot be compressed. If you are still having problems there is always the old (old old old) trick of placing a length of sewing cotton (dipped in sulphite first) in the bottle neck. Then cork as usual and gently ease cotton out of bottle. This releases any pressure in the bottle. Dont forget to leave bottles upright for at least 24 hours to allow the corks to swell and seal. Good luck

[kirk]

I have one of those corkers and I find it pushes the cork a bit too far in, none have come out and the depth they go to is consistant.

[silverfox]

Ange

One possible cause is that you are not leaving enough room for the corks to go into the bottle.
There are many types of "corks" out there ,of varying lengths, sizes & materials.
Leave a good 25mm (1") of space from the top of the wine to under the bootom of the cork.
You can see what I mean by putting one of the corks you are using next to the bottle top. Roughly fill the bottle with the wine to leave a space of 25mm (1")
Most liquids are incompressable so the smaller the space under the cork the more likely you are to compress the air above the wine,which in turn will push out your cork.
What type of corks are you using as some are very hard to compress as mention before.
I use "favorite" corks that have been waxed. You can tell if they are soft enough when you squeze them.
Hope this helps.

Silverfox

[Ange]

Thanks everyone for your help with this. Sorry for detal in answering, had no internet since 14:00hrs yesterday afternoon, just back on now. I have *favourite* corks, but will buy some more I think, maybe tapered ones. I have been leaving about an inch between base of cork when in bottle to where the wine's filled to.

Ange
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