If you plan on bottling your wine in a standard wine bottle with a standard wine cork, you will need a corking machine. A Corker is a device that compresses the cork and inserts it into the bottle while compressed. The cork will then expand in the neck and create a seal.
There are two style of corkers. The most simple type has a 'V' shaped tapered cone and a shaft that forces the cork through the 'V' and into the neck of the bottle. The other sytle of corker has an 'iris' that compresses the cork from all sides at once and then forces it into the neck of the bottle.
The most basic corker is the twin lever hand corker. There is the basic model that does not have a way to adjust the 'throw' of the plunger one one model that has an adjustable plunger that can push the cork deeper into the neck of the bottle. If you are only corking a new bottles at a setting, you will find the hand corker does quite well. If you plan on corking 30 or more bottles at a time, you will find that a bench/floor corker will be worth the extra cost.
You can find a video on the use a hand corker here: You can find a video on the use of a bench/floor corker here:
Contact us if you have any questions regarding corkers for winemaking.
