[Growwine] Wine Bottle Closures

[Wayne Holland]

For the home winemaker  I advise regular crown caps. I have been  
using them since the '80's with complete satisfaction and no losses  
whatsoever.

Test: 1986 Zinfandel was made. A year in old barrel with charred oak  
sticks added. A very promising wine. Several bottles were crown  
capped with matching 6 cm corked bottles. They have been opened over  
the years with interested friends and compared and the cap has ALWAYS  
been the preferred one, if any difference could be noted. Luck has  
held and all corks remained sound. The last pair were put to the test  
2 years ago. Same results.

Finding appropriate bottles can be a chore as many bottle return  
depots are now computerized and don't or won't sell bottles to the  
public. Best bottles are Andres sparkling wine. Tall Riesling 750 mL  
shape. Also avail in magnum 1.5 L size. NZ Steinlager is a 750  mL  
bottle that is very satisfactory. I also am quite fond of the clear  
Corona bottles for rosé or blush wines. They are 330 mL except in the  
US where they are 355 mL. Also made in 650 mL. Many other beer  
companies make large format product in the mid 600 mL size and if you  
can settle in on one size it helps so you don't have to adjust your  
capper height all the time.

Note that a slight re-ferment in these strong bottles will not be a  
problem. You will just have a bit of champagne.

Crown cap at a penny vs (good) cork at a quarter. Another bonus is  
that bottles can be stored upright on your cellar shelves which suits  
me, and sediment settles out on the BOTTOM of the bottle.

I do cork a few that are to be gifts to people because I don't want  
to give my good crown cap types away. Some folks are good returners,  
but most that leave are on a one way trip.

Last point. A sharpie pen can put a full ID on the cap. No label  
required.

regards, wayne
On 13-Nov-07, at 5:39 AM, J & A Baker wrote:

> I’m looking for some feedback on the above.
>
>
>
> After 26 years of using regular corks, with some nominal /  
> occasional loss, I switched to Noma (synthetic) Corks.
>
>
>
> Now I am not certain that it was a good decision so I am hopeful of  
> receiving some comments on others observations.  I have not  
> experienced serious problems but I do have some concerns about  
> freshness and possible oxidation.  I know that a western US winery  
> undertook a 4 year study on closures and determined that screw caps  
> were the best.  In fact, they even selected a particular type of  
> screw cap to use in their winery.  Unfortunately, screw caps do not  
> appear to be a reasonable option for home winemakers.
>
>
>
> As a part of that comment they alluded to the fact that synthetic  
> corks might be TOO tight, locking in an amount of oxygen when it is  
> corked.  Maybe my concern is unwarranted but observations of others  
> would be appreciated.
>
>
>
> Many thanks,
>
>
>
> Alan Baker
>
>
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