bottling question (wax the cork?)

Never heard of the wax dipping, I always soak the corks in water before bottling and add 1/4 tsp M B S to 5 gal at bottling. Never had a bottle go bad in 15 years.

Mike K

There are some that will put glycerin on their corks to make them go in easy. (I don't.) There are also some who cork and then dip the bottle neck in wax as an extra seal. But I never heard of dipping the cork itself. ;o\ Ray

Just remember, if it makes the cork easier to insert, it also makes it easier to come out, temp heave, etc.

CHEERS!

Here (UK) corks are already waxed. I don't think there's much point in doing that yourself. I soak them just before use in cold water with a bit of metabisulphite, but you can also drive them in dry. Don't boil corks! Adding meta to wine before bottling is just one of those precautions against spoilage and oxidation. With a bit of care, it is not really necessary for red wines.

Rene.

That is NOT common practice. In fact, I've never heard of anyone doing that. I've heard of dipping the end of bottles into wax _after_ corking, but personally I don't like that treatment. It looks good on the bottle but it's a PIA to remove when opening the bottle, and even worse when it comes to reusing the bottles.

It's a good idea to check the free SO2 just at bottling time to make sure that it's in line with the wine's pH. The general rule of thumb is the free SO2 should be approximately at the level of the two digits to the right of the decimal of the wine's pH. E.g., at pH 3.40 the free SO2 should be 40 ppm; at 3.60 pH the free SO2 should be 60 ppm, etc.

Tom S