Prepping corks?

I'm going to pick up a floor corker tomorrow.

What steps do I need to take when preparing the corks?

Will soaking them in a bowl of (cold/warm/hot) sanitizing solution be sufficient?

What about storing the un-used corks that are left in the opened bag, will a zip-lock keep them OK until they are needed later?

Pogo

real cork corks? or synthetics?

I prefer synthetic corks. they work well and you don't have to worry about them drying out or falling apart when being removed in 2 years (I made a lot of mead that has to age out). for synthetics, just sanitize like normal.

for real cork i think you need to pay a little more care to them. i avoid them tho, so I cannot help on that.

Corks are pretty water repellent, and soaking or boiling would damage them anyway. I like to either spray some sanitizer on them or sometimes I use a glass measuring cup and boil some water. I add some campden tablets, stir well, and then put the corks around that in a covered bowl. I let that sit until cooled, and then use that sulfite solution in my wine. I rack the wine into it, and then use the corks from that sulfite "steam". It kills two birds with one stone. It makes my sulfite solution for the wine, and it sanitizes the corks.

I'm not even sure the corks need to be sanitized, but I keep them in my yucky basement. Sanitizing them makes me feel better.

Thanks for the help!

Hmmm...you've also raised another question.

I bought a bag of real corks, but, upon closer inspection, they are not solid corks.

I mean, they look to be corks pressed from tiny pieces of cork, which causes me to think that there must be some glue involved in this amalgam, too.

The LHBS says that they are the highest grade corks available. The only synthetic corks the shop sells are the Zork's, which I'll probably try one day, but not any time soon.

My only experience with a synthetic cork, that stands out in my mind, was about a year ago with an inexpensive bottle of Gallo.

I was trying one of those cork removal tools, instead of a corkscrew, with the two narrow spring steel fingers, that slide down along side the outside body of the cork, and against the inside of the bottles neck.

The next thing I know, the cork pushed all the way into the bottle, splashing red Merlot all over me.

It wasn't until I fished it out that I realized that it was synthetic.

So...I'm a little leery of synthetic corks, but I'm also not a big fan of dispensing cork fragments into guest's wine glasses, or mine, either.

BTW - What brand of synthetic corks should I be seeking if I decide to take the plunge, and are they sized the same as real cork corks, like is a number 9 still a number 9?

Pogo

You're going to need to become a cork soaker. How does one become a cork soaker? Excellent question! As we like to say, "Cork soakers are born, not made." The great thing about the cork soaking, is that while you are soaking the cork, you can also.. massage the grapes, until the cork is ready. [ holds up a bunch of grapes ]

Not all corks are the same. Yooper likes to soak the big, thick corks whereas some prefer longer and skinnier ones. I'll never forget the first time I soaked a cork. I was fifteen, in summer camp.

But perhaps I've said too much.

I use corks (real ones) right out of the bag with no soaking and no sanitizer. I dip them in water for lubrication right before I use them and press them in the bottle. I have never had any issue of any type from this process.

You're going to need to become a cork soaker. How does one become a cork soaker? Excellent question! As we like to say, "Cork soakers are born, not made." The great thing about the cork soaking, is that while you are soaking the cork, you can also.. massage the grapes, until the cork is ready. [ holds up a bunch of grapes ]

Not all corks are the same. Yooper likes to soak the big, thick corks whereas some prefer longer and skinnier ones. I'll never forget the first time I soaked a cork. I was fifteen, in summer camp.

But perhaps I've said too much.

Click to expand...

That was the Janet Jackson episode, if memory serves.