StillSmart

sometimes I get empty wine bottles but the screw tops are missing so im trying out novatwist plastic screw tops from love-to-brew.
ebay no 281499089034
alan

I normally use wine corks for a nice snug fit

alan wrote:sometimes I get empty wine bottles but the screw tops are missing so im trying out novatwist plastic screw tops from love-to-brew.
ebay no 281499089034
alan

I came upon Novatwist the end of last year, they are brilliant..my last job was 14 bottles of Rhubarb wine.

How yer getting on with the novatwists ?

I've seen them listed and mentioned in a few places, but have yet to trythem.

Screw tops are usually supplied with the bottles to make sure they'll fit/seal, plus they're most designed for machine use to make the crimpfor tamper resistance, but you can get a handle crimper but it was at least a couple of hundred euro's last time I checked.

And as yet, I haven't found a local supplier for Zorks locally either (which I'd like to try).

Ergo, I stick to corks and either shrink collars or wax.

Using corks in screw.top bottles isn't a good idea as.the bottle neck is usually thinner glass and can break/chip with cork......

As a source for bottles and caps I have used:

http://www.bottlecompanysouth.co.uk/pro ... 711&cat=37


These bottles I used for both wines and spirits. The 'duet caps' included with the bottles are tamper evident. Even after being used once, though no longer tamper evident, they can still be used again.

I used to use corks for my wines but now largely stick to these. Lots of commercial wine growers now tend to use plastic corks or screw top caps to avoid issues of 'corking'.

Toper wrote:As a source for bottles and caps I have used:

http://www.bottlecompanysouth.co.uk/pro ... 711&cat=37


These bottles I used for both wines and spirits. The 'duet caps' included with the bottles are tamper evident. Even after being used once, though no longer tamper evident, they can still be used again.

I used to use corks for my wines but now largely stick to these. Lots of commercial wine growers now tend to use plastic corks or screw top caps to avoid issues of 'corking'.

Too rich for my budget once you include shipping (found them a while back, but they're too far away not to need P&P)

Plus I usually manage to get "cork only" type bottles free anyway. Don't have to "de-label" but they need washing and sanitising.

For spirits, I just get the plastic capped cork stoppers so they can be taken out and replaced with no problems.

Cork and either plastic shrink sleeves or bottling wax for wines and meads..........

Cheap enough for me

I bought these:
http://www.jbconline.co.uk/shop/bottle-caps/black-novatwist-wine-bottle-caps/

Most of my wine gets racked off into 1 gallon demijons and never gets bottled. I use 1 litre flip top bottles for my own use, and only use corks for presents.
I used to bottle cases and cases but just don't bother now.

I have 50+ gallon demijohns and that is plenty for me, even when some is 5 years old.

I like the volume thinking here Myles.
What stopped my wine-making was the bottle sterilisation and time taken;the same with beer bottling.
I may move back to beer and wine next year,but will be seeking shortcuts for the bottling stage.
Beer barrels certainly helped with beer,your revelation of using demi-johns may swing it for wine.
Thanks.

As a twist on an old joke - Those that can do,those that can't teach,those that can't do either blog endlessly.

Robert.

Folks do tend to overlook the storage potential of gallon demijons. Even if you ferment in 6 gallon or so HDPE fermenters you could still lay down 4 or 5 demijons.

With sterilised corks tied on through the handles with string retainers, these are easy to put on shelves lying on their sides.

Open 1 for a party and there is a good chance it will get emptied. Last Christmas I left out a gallon of mixed eldeberry and hedgerow, and fairly soon all the wives were in the kitchen. The bought in wine never even got opened.