Plastic Corks with Wire Hoods

[hogie]

Does anyone have experience with these? Just wondering how they perform in comparison to real cork, are they difficult to get in the bottles, etc....

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[jeffsmith]

Curious about this as well. I'm thinking that they may possibly be a better oxygen barrier than standard corks?

[Juniper Hill]

I've used this style of closure in champagne bottles. Variable results...Had cider last 3 yrs without off flavours, but had some sparkling wine oxidize after 18 months. The plastic corks can be a challenge to fit in, I found that a rubber mallett helped alot.

[hogie]

Good call on the rubber mallet. I figured something like that would be necessary. I'm going to order some and use them with the Belgian Barrel Quad bottling. Will report on my findings...

[mr x]

Can't find corks?

[HappyHopper]

Hey fellas we carry these at Ng they are cheap and work great, also reusable .. You don't need a mallet you can actually just push them in with minimal force.

[hogie]

Good to know. What is your price?

[mr x]

IIRC, somebody here tried the plastic ones with the belgian bottles, and they didn't work so good. The champagne bottles they are designed for might have been a different diameter than some of the belgian bottles.

[hogie]

Hmm. Very interesting. So with real corks, you just insert them about halfway and put the cages on?

Do I need a floor corker or could I use one of these (which I already have)?

[mr x]

That will work just fine. Get a hose clamp that fits the shaft, and use that to set the insertion depth. Keep it lubed with star-san, and twist when you pull it off. But you need belgian style corks, which are different from wine corks.

[Juniper Hill]

Hey fellas we carry these at Ng they are cheap and work great, also reusable .. You don't need a mallet you can actually just push them in with minimal force.

Johnathan,

NG has sold two different types of these. The "accordion style" one needs a lot of force to insert, so I use a mallet for those.

X,

Not all Champagne bottles have the same diameter either. As you would expect, the plastic corks won't hold pressure unless they are firmly seated in the bottle neck.