Bottles explode during corking, Help

You should leave 1/2 inch of ullage no matter what corks you are using.

Greg

To be honest in my experience you sometimes need to leave more like

Jim

Back to basics. Air is compressible, liquids are not.

I've never done this, so if there is someone with exerience with this, please join in: I have heard of placing a stainless steel wire alongside the cork during the insertion of the cork. This leaves a small space for the air being compressed by the cork's insertion to pass by the cork. Then, the wire is removed, and since the cork is still just freshly inserted, it re-expands to take up the space the wire held, creating a full seal. I would think this is more useful with a synthetic cork than a regualr cork.

As Frederick says below, "Air is compressible, liquids are not." Air is also expandable, which means that the removal of the cork when you're ready to drink is a lot easier with a little air space between the wine and the cork.

Rob

I'd be interested to hear replies to that too. Frankly I have been too concerned that I will etch a narrow channel down the side of my cork (when I remove it) and create a leaker. Maybe even fishing line would work. I'd be surprised if leaving 3/4" ullage was a critical problem, but a simpler superior solution would be great :)

Jim

I hate exploding bottles also. here is what I learned:

I agree with Greg,

and, yes, I'm a Type A personality with a focus on detail. haha. Except when a glass of wine is in my hand. Then I'm slow, relaxed and friendly.

DAve

jim wrote:

Ha ha, that made me smile. I thought it was only me that crept around with a straw...

I used to do this with a fishing line but don't anymore, it just seemd like too much work for little effect. One problem with the line was that it'd break sometimes because it got chewed up by the corker, and I'd have to pull the cork and repeat the try with another. And yes, it could leave a channel in the cork, particularly a synthetic one because those are less malleable.

Pp

Ah! Great feedback Pp thanks for that :)

I will settle for a tiny bit more ullage as a best solution for synthetics...

Many thanks, Jim

Natural corks take longer to decompress and return close to their original diameter and the pressure created will leak out over time if you leave the bottles upright./ That is why the advice is to store them upright for a day after corking. Synthetics bounce back immediately and seal the bottle as they are inserted making them the piston and the bottle the cylinder. They will never leak any of the bottling pressure out and I have always wondered if that is the reason sulfite levels measured in a synthetic corked bottle are often lower, they have more oxygen to scavenge. Sumpremecorq recommended either vacuum bottling or the fishing line trick for homewinemakers. If you use a decent test line and pull it slow it could work. String trimmer line might work better. I use Nomacorc and don't bother, I have wines under them for 3 to 4 years and have no complaints.

As an aside, anyone with a brass jaw corker needs to be careful with synthetics, you need to examine the seal area closely to make sure your corker is not scoring the corc and creating an imperfect seal. Natural corks are much more tolerant. If you are getting scoring the jaws can be adjusted. Iit's a pain to do and the jaws are under a lot of pressure, if you are not mechanically inclined you shouldn't take one apart.

It's good practice to leave 1/2 to 3/4" headspace on wines corked with anything to allow temperature changes to be absorbed within that headspace. A corked wine bottle is a big thermometer....

Joe

Be very careful that the string trimmer line doesn't have raised "cutting edges," as that will no doubt score the cork!

Out of interest, has anyone actual read or conducted studies showing that 3/4" - 1" of ullage produces an inferior result than 1/2"?

If there is no discernable difference, surely a little more ullage is the simplest bet?

Jim

Not here. My wine making partner and I usually bottle about 12 cases at a time and eyeball it. Well he eyeballs 'em and I cork 'em. Probably fall somewhere in the 1/2 to 3/4 range and no I can't taste the difference.

Steve

Good to hear Steve thanks. I couldn't tell the difference so far between those I bottled under synthetic with 3/4"+ ullage and the ones I bottled under natural corks with 1/2" but then none of my wines are over 18 months yet. I do bottle some under each with a view to seeing eventually if I think I can tell any difference, but I think with my newbie nose it is unlikely...

Jim

As Frederick says below, "Air is compressible, liquids are not." Air is also expandable, which means that the removal of the cork when you're ready to drink is a lot easier with a little air space between the wine and the cork.

Rob

Good point. No idea how Andie is going to get those corks back out unless he drills a small hole down through the cork to provide an "airway" to let in some air while pulling the corks. Interesting problem............ ;o)

Frederick

Does anyone fill the bottle ullage with inert gas? I have about 15 gallons to bottle in about 90 days, and plan to top them all off with argon.

I know that at least some if not most commercial wineries use Nitrogen which would be cheaper than Argon. Argon does carry some risk if used in very confining environments.

On wines I expect to store for a while, I get one of those inert-gas cans for wine preservation and give each bottle a shot before corking.

Rob

Really? Do you find a difference? Anyone else do this? Very interesting. So you shoot into the top 1/2 to 3/4 inch of space a inert-gas shot - and cork. how do you do that? Like within a few seconds? or once you spray, it's heavy so no hurry? or within a second?

DAve

Rob wrote: