What are most people doing for corking?

This thread got me to thinking about what my plans are for corking bottles once I bulk age the brews I have going.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/can-i-cork-without-corker-146078/

So what are most people doing?

I have some empty standard wine bottles (that I got for free so I hate them to go to waste) but no corker or corks, which I was going to worry about later. Reading over the different kind of corks my LHBS sells makes it hard to know what to get. Some of the corks needed for aging brews 1-3 years seems like they might be harder to use with a hand corker like this one I was considering: http://www.ebrew.com/wine_corkers/portuguese_2_lever_corker.htm

I might say screw it and just buy swing tops, or the clear swing tops from IKEA to simplify but I like the idea of having wine bottles in a rack for storage and aesthetics. I make small batches anyway.

We spent the money of the Italian floor corker with the brass bushings.

I have one of the hand corkers, but I've been watching craigslist for a Portuguese or an Italian corker. I've seen a couple for about half the price they are new, but I keep on missing them. Right now, I just have about 10 gallons that I'm about to bottle. If I don't score a cheaper one in the near future, I'll probably fork over the cash for one once I have 20 gallons of something to bottle.

Has anyone here used the portugese model? Its 17 bucks at LHBS and as long as I can use a size 9 cork to age a mead/win over a year I won't mind breaking a slight sweat to cork them. A floor capper is just not an option right now.

goodbyebluesky82 said:

Has anyone here used the portugese model? Its 17 bucks at LHBS and as long as I can use a size 9 cork to age a mead/win over a year I won't mind breaking a slight sweat to cork them. A floor capper is just not an option right now.

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From what I have read most LHBS will loan you their with a deposit if they're cool. I was doubtful of this and inquired at mine. they loan it without a deposit. An inquiry with them may be to your and their advantage here.

GTG

I have been using a two handle corker for a few years.

The secret is DO NOT STOP OR SLOW DOWN. Just swift, determined motion and the corks go right in. The biggest issue I have with my corker is that the adjusting nuts loosen and then the corks protrude above the bottle. Keep an eye on that and it works fine.

goodbyebluesky82 said:

Has anyone here used the portugese model? Its 17 bucks at LHBS and as long as I can use a size 9 cork to age a mead/win over a year I won't mind breaking a slight sweat to cork them. A floor capper is just not an option right now.

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That's a steal! I paid about $60 for mine a while back. I love it, and find that it works well and the corks go in easily. I use #9 corks.

With a hand corker, I found it very hard to get #9s all the way in. The double handled hand corker was about $25 or so, so if you can get a floor corker cheaper that's an awesome deal.

Heckle said:

We spent the money of the Italian floor corker with the brass bushings.

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+ 1, If you're going to be corking wine at home, this is definately the model to go with. I've never had a problem with it & it's very sturdy; makes corking a breeze & worth every penny. Regards, GF.