Description

30 Straight Corks

What are they?

These are high-quality straight wine corks (the top and bottom of the cork are the same size). These corks fit glass wine bottles that do not have a screw thread. You will need a corking tool to insert these corks into the bottle. If you have screw bottles then you may wish to consider using our Novotwist caps which are available in several colors.

Why use straight corks?

When storing wine over a few months or more, ideally you would lay the wine bottle in a wine rack. This keeps the cork moist and stops it drying out, keeping the contents inside away from the air. Only straight corks should be used if you intend to lay the wine down, as all of the cork is pressed against the bottleneck making a good seal.

How Do You Insert the Corks?

These corks have a natural wax coating on the outside, making them easy to insert in the bottles. There is no soaking required with these corks, they can be inserted into the bottles directly. You will need a corking tool to insert the corks into the bottles.

What is a wine corker?

A wine corker is a device that has a tapered tube, where the cork is inserted at the top, and the bottle underneath.   A plunger pushes the cork down the tube to compress it. It then expands when it enters the bottle top, ensuring a secure seal in the bottle. If you only have a few bottles to cork then a simple hand corker should be fine. If you have more then we recommend a 2-handed corker, this will speed up the process and make bottling easier.

Can you use straight corks on screw-top bottles?

We would not recommend using straight corks on screw-top wine bottles. The design of a screw-top bottle means that the glass of the thread is thinner in parts, and as the cork applies pressure to the neck, it could weaken and crack the bottle. A bottle that is designed for corks has a thicker strengthening ring around the top of the bottle to protect it against any pressure from the cork. For screw-top bottles, use Novatwist caps. They are very secure and give your bottles a professional finish.

Rinse the corks under a cold tap before inserting, this removes any cork dust from the manufacturing process (do not soak the corks in hot water, this will melt the wax coating and may make the cork look blotchy)

If any part of the cork protrudes above the bottle top, use a sharp knife to carefully trim the cork.
To avoid a dimple in the top of the cork, place a penny between the plunger and the cork, this spreads the pressure and minimizes the risk of a dimple from the plunger.

We recommend using shrink seals after corking to give your bottles a professional appearance.
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