Sterilising Corks

[Lattytatty]

Good evening.

I am a newbie to this site and a newbie to the world of wine making!

I have a white wine ready to bottle and am totally bamboozled by the corks! I have some brand new Youngs U Brew straight corks which say 'Do not soak' on the label. My husband said his Dad always boiled his corks so that was what I was planning on doing.

However, after a bit of research online I see some people saying never boil corks as they'll go mushy on the inside and gradually disintegrate. Others say they soak in a solution. Some say they do nothing at all.

I am at a loss - can anyone give an absolute beginner an idiot's guide answer to what is the best/easiest/foolproof option.

My husband's on the verge of giving up before we've even got started but I am keen to really get into making our own wine.

Thanks in advance.

[Alison]

There was a thread about this before and I remember realising that I'd never even thought about steralising corks and had just used them as they were. Possibly risky but I'd never even thought about it. Can't remember what the conclusions were but you could search and maybe find out.

[Lattytatty]

Thanks for that, I've found the other thread and that was quite inconclusive for the cork ones - more for the synthetic ones.

So, as I'm with you on not really seeing a huge need to go sterilising crazy (sorry if this is a really dumb question!) do the corks go in just as well when they are dry as when they are wet?

[Jeanied]

I always used to soak my corks, LT - but then this was the dark ages! I kept them in a screw top jar of the sterilising solution. They get a lot softer when soaked and they go into the bottle easier that way. Boiling them had the same effect as soaking in the jar but was quicker.

[Two_Sheds]

I don't soak my corks, but I do sit them in the (cold) sterilising solution for *about* half an hour.
they don't go mushy, like if you boil them.

[shirlthegirl43]

I take mine out of the Young's bag and bung em in. They go in fine dry and I have not yet experienced home-brew that 'corked'

Welcome to the vine and to the fun of brewing your own

[Scunny Zeb]

a lot of the corks are silicone coated now.
a quick dip in sterilising solution is all they need.

[mrdinkle]

I have pondered this myself.

I tend to use the Young's corks and I always give them a brief dip in milton (15 mins). Not had any problems yet, though I am relatively new to all this

[Hilary B]

The corks we use look like 'real' onesas far as I can tell, come from the local home=brew shop (not as local as I would like) in an anonymous plastic bag. They get put in a jug, boiling water poured on, and fished out as needed for use. Seems to work OK. The few failures we've had haven't been the sort you get from not sterilising. I find they go in easier well soaked, and it only takes a couple of minutes to get that wet in hot water.

[Scunny Zeb]

or you could use the corks with plastic top if you are not laying your bottles down

Like the ones we use at wine shows

[Hazel at the Hill]

or you could use the corks with plastic top if you are not laying your bottles down

Hi Zeb - do you mean literally 'laying your bottles down', or 'keeping the bottles for ages and ages'.

I use plastic corks & they get steralised with boiling water & I keep the wine on its side in a rack thing in the garage - presume that's ok? Haven't had any that taste odd (well, the celery did, but that was nothing to do with it)

[Scunny Zeb]

I dont bother with corks now. I keep my wines in various size PET bottles . The advantage is I can squeeze them slightly to displace the air.
I only bother with glass bottles for my show wines or gifts for people.

[rustylady]

Always used to soak my corks in boiling water for around 15 minutes. Not particularly to sterilise, more to soften them a bit so they went into the bottles a bit easier.