Guidelines [ 49 KB ]

STORAGE & BOTTLING GUIDELINES

STORAGE

To reduce the potential for contamination, it is recommended with storage of corks at the winery be no more that three (3) months prior to use.

Corks should be kept in sealed bags, stored above ground in a clean, dry, odor free and ventilated room.

Ideally, opened bags should be used immediately and completely.

Otherwise, bag up and seal any corks left in the cork hopper.

Partially used bags should be resealed immediately and used as soon as possible.

Corks should be stored where the relative air moisture is between 40 and 65% and the temperature stays within 60°Fto 77°F.

Avoid exposure to climate variation caused by temperature and humidity changes, which is often found when storingclosures near frequently used doors and rooms without stabilized climate control.

Corks should be kept away from all chemicals, pesticides, fungicides, chlorine-based sanitary products and treatedwooden structures (in particular with PCP [pentachlorophenol]).

Do not wet corks prior to bottling.

BOTTLING

CORKING EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE: Follow the corking equipment manufacturer schedule of regular maintenanceand recommended standards to assure optimum corking, insertion and sealing performance. Daily cleaning and sanitation of cork handling surfaces are essential.

BOTTLING ROOM: Keep bottling area free from insects and other airbone elements.

BOTTLES: Check bottles for evenness of bore (consistency of inside neck diameter). Keep bottle neck dry. Water or winecontact between the cork and the interior of the bottle neck can cause the cork to go in too deeply or come out tooeasily and induce risk of leakage through capillary action.

JAWS AND CENTERING GUIDE: Diameter of compression should be 15.5 mm (± 0.5 mm). Make sure it is smaller thanthe centering guide opening. Do not over compress. An excessive compression can weaken the cork's ability to seal.When the centering guide is 6.0mm long, maximum lower diameter should be 16.2 mm wide and upper diameter should be 18.8mm. When 11.0 to 14.0 mm long, maximum lower diameter of centering guide should be 16 mmwide.

CORKING UNDER VACUUM AND CO2: A remaining pressure of 0.2 bars is highly recommended to ensure a proper sealand avoid risks of seepage or leakage. Removal of air in the headspace is essential for wine quality. Corking with CO2 may cause instantaneous increased pressure of up to 2.0 bars in the headspace. Bottles should remain upright untilcorrect pressure is achieved (see INVERTING BOTTLES).

CORKING DEPTH: Corks for standard bottles should be inserted to a depth of 1.0 mm from the lip of the neck to the top of the inserted cork and to 3.0-4.0mm for flange necked bottles using wax discs .

FILL HEIGHT, WINE TEMPERATURE AND HEADSPACE: Follow glass manufacturer guidelines for proper filling heights(epsilon). Headspace varies according to wine temperature (see diagram), bottle type and cork lengths. The recommendedspace between the cork and the wine is 15.0 mm.

PEDESTAL: Pedestal spring should be adjusted to 100 daN. A bottle should not be able to be moved by hand whenlodged between the centering cone and the pedestal. The bottle should not be shaking at the time of insertion.

CORKING SPEED: Proper corking speed is essential for optimum corking. Single-headed corker: 2500 bottles/hour (minimum 800 bottles per hour). Multi-headed corker : 1250 bottles/hour and per head (minimum 800bottles per hour and per head).

INVERTING BOTTLES: Wait at least 3 minutes before inverting bottles to allow enough time for the cork to recover and applypressure against the bottle neck. The internal bottle pressure must then be below 0.4 bar.