Corks popping off

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Benny27

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Hi, I had bought pails of wine and now have them corked and in my wine cellar. Before bottling i checked the wine with my hydrometer and everything was done. Plus it sat there for even longer before bottling. It has been at least a couple of months since bottling. Now for the problem, corks are popping off of my white wine. Why is this happening?

Thanks
 
I'm not sure but my guess is the CO2 left in the bottle is pushing the corks out. It may be as simple as re-corking. Hopefully, Yooper or Summersolstice will pop in and be able to answer better.
 
I have a couple of questions. What was the FG of the wine? How long did it sit before bottling? And, how gassy was it when you bottled it? Did you sweeten the wine?

I'm guessing that, as Nurmey said, the wine was gassy when bottled. If the weather is warmer now than when you bottled it, the gas would cause the corks to pop out.

If it's simply gassy, you can uncork all of the bottles. Let them sit a couple of hours, and recork. There may be other issues, though- that's why I asked about the FG.
 
YooperBrew said:
I have a couple of questions. What was the FG of the wine? How long did it sit before bottling? And, how gassy was it when you bottled it? Did you sweeten the wine?

I'm guessing that, as Nurmey said, the wine was gassy when bottled. If the weather is warmer now than when you bottled it, the gas would cause the corks to pop out.

If it's simply gassy, you can uncork all of the bottles. Let them sit a couple of hours, and recork. There may be other issues, though- that's why I asked about the FG.
Click to expand...

Not sure of the excat FG but it was between 90 and 1.000. It sat for at least a month in the pail and then longer in a few 1 gallon jugs. Not sure how gassy it was and i did not sweeten the wine.

I had one cork come out about a month ago (when it was still colder) and then i have had 3 in the last couple of weeks.

Thanks for the help
 
Benny27 said:
Not sure of the excat FG but it was between 90 and 1.000.
Click to expand...

Well, the exact FG should have been .990 or so. If it was higher, it might be fermenting now. I think that sounds like the problem.

I'd open them and gently pour them back into the carboy, adding one campden tablet (crushed and dissolved) per gallon to the bottom first. That would lessen the chance of oxidation from pouring them back into the carboy. Put it under airlock, and wait a bit to see if any fermentation takes place. Check the SG, and when you do that, look at the sample to see if there are any bubbles in the hydrometer jar. If the SG is .990 and there are no bubbles (you shouldn't see any, since the pouring into the carboy would knock most of the co2 out) then it'd be safe to rebottle.
 
YooperBrew said:
Well, the exact FG should have been .990 or so. If it was higher, it might be fermenting now. I think that sounds like the problem.

I'd open them and gently pour them back into the carboy, adding one campden tablet (crushed and dissolved) per gallon to the bottom first. That would lessen the chance of oxidation from pouring them back into the carboy. Put it under airlock, and wait a bit to see if any fermentation takes place. Check the SG, and when you do that, look at the sample to see if there are any bubbles in the hydrometer jar. If the SG is .990 and there are no bubbles (you shouldn't see any, since the pouring into the carboy would knock most of the co2 out) then it'd be safe to rebottle.
Click to expand...

Sorry still learning how to read and write info about the hydrometer properly...the FG would have been between .990 and 1.000. I also ment 1 gallon jugs and not 4 gallon jugs.
 
Benny27 said:
Sorry still learning how to read and write info about the hydrometer properly...the FG would have been between .990 and 1.000. I also ment 1 gallon jugs and not 4 gallon jugs.
Click to expand...

I understand that. But, having a FG "between .990 and 1.000" isn't really a FG reading. That is like saying a cop clocked you at between 20 mph and 100 mph. Not really useful information at all, because one end is perfectly fine and legal, the other end is going to get you a ticket, and is dangerous.

If you bottled at .990, there shouldn't be any problem. If you bottled at 1.000, then you could have popping corks if not bottle bombs. So, if you can actually know FG reading, then that will help alot.
 
YooperBrew said:
I understand that. But, having a FG "between .990 and 1.000" isn't really a FG reading. That is like saying a cop clocked you at between 20 mph and 100 mph. Not really useful information at all, because one end is perfectly fine and legal, the other end is going to get you a ticket, and is dangerous.

If you bottled at .990, there shouldn't be any problem. If you bottled at 1.000, then you could have popping corks if not bottle bombs. So, if you can actually know FG reading, then that will help alot.
Click to expand...

Sorry, i didn't write down the final FG because i didn't think i would need it and at this point i can't really remember it. I can say for sure it was not 1.000 exactly or .990 exactly.

This was my first crack at anything and got a lot of old school advice....
 
Benny27 said:
Sorry, i didn't write down the final FG because i didn't think i would need it and at this point i can't really remember it. I can say for sure it was not 1.000 exactly or .990 exactly.

This was my first crack at anything and got a lot of old school advice....
Click to expand...

My guess then is that it wasn't done fermenting. It sounds like it's finishing fermentation in the bottle, causing the corks to pop out. I'd pour them all gently back into a carboy and let it sit a bit, using the campden. If they are popping now, they aren't going to stop.
 
YooperBrew said:
My guess then is that it wasn't done fermenting. It sounds like it's finishing fermentation in the bottle, causing the corks to pop out. I'd pour them all gently back into a carboy and let it sit a bit, using the campden. If they are popping now, they aren't going to stop.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks for the help
 
YooperBrew said:
My guess then is that it wasn't done fermenting. It sounds like it's finishing fermentation in the bottle, causing the corks to pop out. I'd pour them all gently back into a carboy and let it sit a bit, using the campden. If they are popping now, they aren't going to stop.
Click to expand...

So i got the wine sitting in a bucket again. I took a reading and it was .994
When i was opening a lot of the bottles (not all though) they seemed pretty gassy, almost like champagne.

How long should it sit for?
 
Benny27 said:
So i got the wine sitting in a bucket again. I took a reading and it was .994
When i was opening a lot of the bottles (not all though) they seemed pretty gassy, almost like champagne.

How long should it sit for?
Click to expand...

You don't have a carboy, to minimize the headspace? You really don't want any oxygen exposure at this point.

You leave it sit for quite a while. Until it's completely done fermenting, and then a little bit more. If you can rack it to a carboy, and add one crushed campden tablet per gallon (dissolved) and top up the headspace, you can let it sit a couple of months. Then check the FG again, and look at the hydrometer sample for any gas. If it's not still fermenting, and the gas is gone, and it's completely clear, it'd be ok to bottle.

If it's just sitting in a bucket, though, with all that headspace, you're going to want to bottle as soon as it's ready. Keep it at 70 degrees or so, even a bit warmer is ok, and it'll finish up fermenting and the gas should come out. Once the FG is stable over a couple of weeks, it's probably ok to bottle.
 
YooperBrew said:
You don't have a carboy, to minimize the headspace? You really don't want any oxygen exposure at this point.

You leave it sit for quite a while. Until it's completely done fermenting, and then a little bit more. If you can rack it to a carboy, and add one crushed campden tablet per gallon (dissolved) and top up the headspace, you can let it sit a couple of months. Then check the FG again, and look at the hydrometer sample for any gas. If it's not still fermenting, and the gas is gone, and it's completely clear, it'd be ok to bottle.

If it's just sitting in a bucket, though, with all that headspace, you're going to want to bottle as soon as it's ready. Keep it at 70 degrees or so, even a bit warmer is ok, and it'll finish up fermenting and the gas should come out. Once the FG is stable over a couple of weeks, it's probably ok to bottle.
Click to expand...

I do have a carboy and i will transfer it over. Am i adding water to top it off? Also what if there is a lot of headspace (i do have a 5 gallon carboy) when i transfer over to the caboy, will alot of added water ruin the wine? Also do know u if i get the campden tablets at a grocery store or would i need to go to the local wine store?

Is it not done fermenting at .994?

Thanks a alot for your help and sorry about all the questions.
 
K i moved the wine into a 5 gallon carboy and added the tablets. I am guessing that i have just under a gallon of headspace. Do i fill that with water?
 
Well, you can add some commercial wine to fill the headspace, sanitized marbles will help a little, and then maybe some water. You don't really want to water down the finished wine, so I'd try the first two alternatives first.
 

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