Help!!!!! I'm confused (corking Belgian bottles)

I'm trying to decide between a Portuguese floor corker and a colonna corker. I've search a few threads but haven't found much useful information. I know they both have flaws mainly with releasing the cork once inserted 3/4 of the way (Belgian style).

My question is which one is better/ easier to use and what methods works best for removing corked bottles

Ps I couldn't find but two YouTube clips which were not much help either

I use a colonna. Basically, to release the cork that you have in the current bottle, you just have to insert your next cork into the holder part way, take out the plate that holds the bottom of the bottle, and press down the lever. This pushes the new cork against the old one and pops it out, prepping the next cork.

My lhbs sold me plastic corks and cages. They don't look as cool but they don't require a corker - just push em in and cage em. They seem to be working great and are, allegedly , reusable ...

Low tones how long have you had your corker I am also worried about durability

if you can afford it, get a Ferrari corker. It will work perfectly and last a lifetime.

lowtones84 said:

I use a colonna. Basically, to release the cork that you have in the current bottle, you just have to insert your next cork into the holder part way, take out the plate that holds the bottom of the bottle, and press down the lever. This pushes the new cork against the old one and pops it out, prepping the next cork.

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I have a Colonna also, never tried using the cork to release the bottle, removed the plate and drive it though, will try it next time

I use a Ferrarri floor corker. It catches a little bit when corking Belgians, but it's a simple manner of pull out the lever, and push down with a finger on the cork while removing the bottle. Clockwork, never an issue. Just takes some practice or manipulation (adjusting the height screw) to get the spacing right.

Chefrex if you had to do it over again would you still by the colonna. And how do you handle the stuck corks

They both work well enough but I would only go with the Colonna if you bottle a lot of regular beers as well and don't already have a bench capper. The only real advantage to the Colonna is the switchable bells.

The floor corker is a little easier to use because the bottom drops out of your way. It also has a repeatable depth stop to set the cork properly. It also does release the top 1/3rd of the cork a bit easier than Colonna.

Tip for Colonna users; instead of pulling the plate out every time to drop the bottle down, use a piece of 1" thick scrap wood between the plate and bottle. Just slide the wood out to pull the bottle.

Bobby_M said:

Tip for Colonna users; instead of pulling the plate out every time to drop the bottle down, use a piece of 1" thick scrap wood between the plate and bottle. Just slide the wood out to pull the bottle.

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Interesting idea! A lot of times bottles are of varying heights if you're using re-used bottles though, so that wouldn't work quite as well in that case. I just made two pencil lines where the plate should slide in to depending on the bottle's height.

beardedbrewer1 said:

Low tones how long have you had your corker I am also worried about durability

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I've had my Colonna for almost 5 years. It is plastic, but it's pretty heavy duty and well made considering that. I bet that if you're only using it for corking the floor corker would be better, but if you don't have a bench capper the Colonna is a nice option to use for both.

I have an italian floor corker, and use it all the time for Belgian bottles, but with slight trick---

first, set up the corker to fully insert a cork into the wine bottle (using the threaded adjuster on the corker).

Then make or get a 1/2 spacer from wood or metal (a 6 inch piece of 1/2 x 1/2 iron from home depot hardware section will work)

Put your belgian bottle into the corker, insert the cork, and place spacer over the cork-hole. Slowly pull down the lever so the corker pushes the cork into the bottle, landing the adjuster on the spacer (your cork is now properly spaced above the bottle)

Raise the lever, grab the bottle and use your foot to push down the bottle stand, and crank the lever down again--without the spacer--and it will push out the cork. (if the bottle stand is pushed down, once you start moving the lever, it locks in place, so you aren't doing some weird contortion thing--sounds much harder than it really is)

When I'm doing 2-3 bottles, it takes longer to get the corker from the garage than it does to cork the bottles.


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This is the one I use. Works great.

I bought a cheap Portuguese hand corker. I fastened a hose clamp to the top of the main part of the lever at the very top. This causes the mechanism to stop before inserting the cork all the way in, then just gently twist off. Works great. Saved me some money instead of buying a floor corker.

beardedbrewer1 said:

Chefrex if you had to do it over again would you still by the colonna. And how do you handle the stuck corks

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I'm happy with it, i liked it for the versatility. I removed the plat and finished driving the cork though but thanks to @Bobby M I will be making a block to remove, great idea, sometimes the simple answer eludes you:smack:

Another STRONG vote for the Ferrari blue corker. The brass jaws are what make this a better option, in my opinion. The nylon jaws are fine when new, but the brass ones are totally trouble-free and the extra height is a plus.