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bottling question (wax the cork?)

Hi all,

I am about to bottle my first batch of kit wine in about three weeks. I had someone tell me that it is a good idea to dip the corks in melted wax (paraffin) before corking. The reason I guess is to get a better seal and to make it easier to remove the cork later. Is this common practice? Is it a good idea? Never heard anyone on this board mention it before.

Also, how important is it to add Sodium Meta-bisulfate right before bottling. I added some on my last racking a couple of weeks ago. Is that sufficient or do I need to do it again. If so, how soon before bottling?

Reply to
Michael E. Carey
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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

Reply to
Mjk9234

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

Reply to
Ray

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

CHEERS!

Reply to
Aaron Puhala

Reply to
Stephen

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.

Reply to
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

Reply to
Tom S

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