Questions on storing wine, used bottles and corks

[sforeman]

need some help please I have 3 questions.....
I have been collecting used wine bottles. can I use screw top wine bottles and insert corks into these and get a good seal? I am maturing fruit wines in djs when I bottle it will be in the bottles for months/years so need a good seal.

the only places I have to store my wine when bottled is a shed that go's from 30 degrees in summer down to minus in winter or at the back of my wardrobe in a wine rack in the dark .temp in there is a constant 20-22 degrees as have been monitoring it. I am leaning towards the wardrobe Will it be ok as could be in there years?

lastly I had issues with wilkos corks breaking up. I have bought some good quality straight silicon coated corks. how do I vanities these as it says don't soak. I was thinking dip in made up sanitiser and dab dry before inserting. will this be odor do you just insert them without doing anything?

thanks in advance for all your help Simon.

 

[MattN]

Hi Simon

Don't use screw tops with corks for long term storage. There is loads of proper wine bottles around this time of year. (friends/relatives)

I would go with the cupboard rather than the shed and your suggested method of sanitization re the corks is what I do.

Cheers

Matt

 

[sforeman]

thanks for the help Matt

 

[oldbloke]

If you kept the original screwtops, they're good for 2 or 3 more uses (properly sanitised of course)
Or you can get new screwtops from, IIRC, bobsbeer, if he has any left
Most screwtops have a slightly different internal diameter to the neck so some corks are a poor fit
I give my corks a good dunking in sanitiser followed by a careful rinse just before insertion
Although cool is better, avoiding temperature fluctuation may matter more, and below 0 may be bad, so I too prefer the cupboard

 

[MattN]

thanks for the help Matt

No problem. Incipiently, I do use screw tops most of the time, however for long term or anything that is a potential gift it gets a cork.

 

[bobsbeer]

I still have some of the Novatwist caps left. viewtopic.php?f=37&t=38330

 

[jkp]

This is also something I've been thinking about. Here it gets into the mid/high 30's & very humid during the summer and as low as -15 & very dry in the winter, so storing wine in the shed or even a cupboard isn't ideal. In the fridge takes up a lot of space but at least the temp isn't too high and very stable. The only concern is that normal fridges are very dry and have lots of other smells that might get into the bottles. So even the fridge doesn't seem idea. The idea of digging up the garden to bury wine/cider a few feet down seems like a lot of work. Other than just drinking everything as quick as possible :drink: , anyone have any useful/easy/cheap tips for storing stuff long term in extreme climates?

 

[oldbloke]

A separate fridge from your food one, modified to sit at about 10degreesC, would be ideal.
Lots of people use one modified to sit at 20 for fermenting ale in, and the details of how to mod them is on here somewhere