Corks backing out

[CodyClay]

I just bottled my first wine yesterday. And I used synthetic corks that came with my equipment kit. I soaked them all in a starsan solution before corking, but I didn't dry them before corking. I think maybe the excess starsan is acting like a lubricant and allowing the corks to back out over time. Any suggestions? I've pressed them back in at least 5 times and they just keep popping back up about 1/4".

 

[Goofynewfie]

Did u degas the wine? It could be CO2 pushing the corks out, be careful the bottles dont explode

 

[CodyClay]

I degassed. It is a kit wine and I followed the instructions precisely.

 

[Goofynewfie]

Have you taken any gravity readings to be sure it is done fermenting?

 

[CodyClay]

Have you taken any gravity readings to be sure it is done fermenting?

Well I messed up a little bit there. My OG was 1.118 and it fermented out in primary to .995 when I transfered to secondary. I added the stabilizer and flavor pack but forgot to check sg after that. (This is a kit by the way) On bottling day the FG was 1.026. But its weird. Only 1/2 of the bottles are backing out. The other 1/2 is fine.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Could be the StarSan. On synthetic corks it probably doesn't soak in and dry.

Always leave the bottles sit upright for a few days before laying down just in case...

 

[TexasWine]

I'd be curious if any of you out there understand why the gravity went up.

I bottled two batches last weekend using synthetic corks. Out of about 70 bottles, one kept popping up like you're describing. I chalked it up to the pressure under the cork pushing it out until the pressure was no longer great enough to overcome the friction between the bottle and cork. I would guess synthetics have a lower coefficient of static friction than cork corks.

 

[Heavywalker]

Wet corks will back out of the bottle, soaking them in sanstar IS the issue.

In the future do not soak the corks, you can just use them as is, or if you are worried about them tainting your wine then you can sanitize them without getting them wet. The way I do it is, before bottling, I get a stainless bowl and put the amount of corks I need in it plus a few extra. I then take a small stainless bowl and crush a campden tablet or two in it, heat some water to boiling and pour in the small bowl over the campden. I then cover with plastic and allow the steam to sanitize the corks while I am filling the bottles. The corks are dry and sanitized and stay in the neck without backing out.

 

[DoctorCAD]

The SG went up because you added the F pack. Its about 90% sugar.

 

[CodyClay]

Wet corks will back out of the bottle, soaking them in sanstar IS the issue.

In the future do not soak the corks, you can just use them as is, or if you are worried about them tainting your wine then you can sanitize them without getting them wet. The way I do it is, before bottling, I get a stainless bowl and put the amount of corks I need in it plus a few extra. I then take a small stainless bowl and crush a campden tablet or two in it, heat some water to boiling and pour in the small bowl over the campden. I then cover with plastic and allow the steam to sanitize the corks while I am filling the bottles. The corks are dry and sanitized and stay in the neck without backing out.

I thought it might be the starsan. Is there anything I can do about these? I dont have enough corks to recork them. And if I did, is it going to hurt the wine to open the bottles and put new corks in?

 

[Heavywalker]

It would not hurt to re-cork the bottles, you would obviously have to buy new corks for this to happen.

Personally I would monitor a few bottles, if they do not continue to come out and that 1/4" is all the further the corks are sticking up then you will be fine, just in the future do not get your corks wet.

 

[CodyClay]

It would not hurt to re-cork the bottles, you would obviously have to buy new corks for this to happen.

Personally I would monitor a few bottles, if they do not continue to come out and that 1/4" is all the further the corks are sticking up then you will be fine, just in the future do not get your corks wet.

Absolutely. Lesson learned. Thanks for you help.