Screw top wine bottles.

[Skippy]

This could perhaps have gone in the reuse section but ho hum. Recently having a bottling session I realised I hadn't got enough wine bottles and still have four gallons left in the Demijons . I normally use regular bottles and plastic corks and have done without problem for ages , there is still a couple of bottles dating back to the late '80's. I tried one over Christmas and it was perfect which leads me to believe the plastic corks do their job. Now , as I say I've run out of bottles and like to reuse bottles where I can but nowadays there is an increasing use of screw top bottles. These bottles seem to have a slightly larger internal neck diameter and the plastic corks just drop in and aren't even remotely tight.
Does anyone here reuse screwtop bottles? I've looked around the net and there seems a mixed reaction. Someone did say there is a possibility of them coming loose or the thread becoming looser allowing contamination . I did wonder whether reusing these bottles and then either dipping the neck in wax or even wrapping with tape might give a belt and braces approach.
Either way if the answer is that it's best not to reuse this seems a retrograde move in a world where we are encouraged to recycle to produce a single use bottle.

[bonniethomas06]

Wax sounds like a good idea Skippy? I haven't got any wisdom to add unfortunately, but I echo your sentiments - we were served water the other night in a bottle with a stopper on a sort of wire hinge - could be re-used hundreds if not thousands of time. My parents were reminiscing about how they used to buy fizzy drinks in them as a rare treat and get a penny for returning the bottle. Cutting down on sugar and re-use all in one...we are definitely going backwards.

[Skippy]

The wax might also give it a faintly classy look too as well as recycling all the bits of wax I have . It'd certainly look more classy than a bit of gaffer tape.

[Brewtrog]

I use screwtop bottles all the time for kit wines, the tops can become loose, but you can always replace them with one off a different bottle (I have a little collection of caps).
I never cork screwtop bottles because they are a different diameter. So saying I know people who do and their wine has been fine.
I also personally wouldn't store a wine I was planning to age in a screwtop bottle, mainly for the risk of oxidation, but also for asthetics

[bonniethomas06]

I don't know, Gaffer tape has a certain 'indy' vibe to it!?

[Skippy]

Cheers brewtrog . Can I ask how many times you may use or consider using the same the same cap? One comment on picked up on looking elsewhere was that the caps become looser with use.
I don't make a conscious decision to use wines by a certain date (hence still having the odd bottle from '85 or '89 ) thus there is a chance a wine may sit in a bottle for a considerable time so your comment about not using screwtops for long term makes me think. It's frustrating really , well a minor frustration in the scheme of things , but still annoying that so many wines these days are sold in screwtops and those bottles may very well be unsuitable for reuse.
Bonnie I may have made the gaffer tape reference a little tongue in cheek but was thinking the other day that I have several rolls of the foil tape used for celotex insulation which would look a tad better aesthetically.

[Brewtrog]

I use the same cap until I notice the bottle leaking, only had 2 (very slight) in 5 or so years, at which point I mark it and swap the cap. You can also tell if a cap isn't going to fit (had a couple of those too). I brew quite a few wine kits (30 bottles) as we drink fairly regularly (and with 3 drinking there is a 250ml glass each). So don't have too much problem keeping cork bottles for country wines.
Before using tape I would really want to know if the adhesive was safe to be drinking. If you're using the tape to seal a potentially leaky bottle there is a fair chance the adhesive is going to get into the wine.
As an aside I have a habit of aiming for cork bottles when I buy wine, even if it is buying a few of lidl's cheapo cheapo stuff (bonus with those is the label comes off really easily)

[Green Aura]

Screw top bottles are OK for things like kits that you're not needing to store on their side. Otherwise I'd ask around for corked bottles from friends etc.
P.S. L!dl do some quite drinkable cheapo stuff.

[Skippy]

Yes I prefer corked bottles when brought . Maybe I don't spend enough time looking around off licences but in my own limited experience more wine seems to be sold in screwtops these days. I mentioned that I have been using plastic corks since the '80's without problems. I did also use cork but have had problems with those. I found that on a couple of bottles I had laid down the wine had over the years evaporat d through the cork. Perhaps I should have put wax over the top?
I understand what you are saying about the potential of glues to get into the wine from tape. To be fair I wasn't really sure about the idea anyway. It's not just not knowing what glues are used but some tapes tend to dry out and not adhere after some time whereas some become increasingly difficult to remove and leave residues. Funnily enough I thought about just that when recently cleaning some commercial bottles . The labels were a complete pain to get off , soaked scrubbed and scraped but still very stubborn , goodness only knows what they used.
I'm beginning to think that your advice to use screwtops for kit wines or ones drunk fairly quickly is the way forward. I don't tend to do many kits although I do have two on the go at the moment. One is a liqueur that my wife fancied when I was buying some more bungs and the other is a can that has sat in the pantry for goodness only knows how long so I though I'd better use it.

[Brewtrog]

You're definitely right to say more wine is coming in screwtop. But a bit of a hunt will normally find some cork bottles, often Spanish wines seem to favour cork (though for some reason they're a pain to delabel).
I've never had any of my wines evap out the cork, though I've not had them down since the 80s. Everything I've been told is that as long as it's on its side in a reasonably cool environment they should be fine. I have been tempted to wax some of mine, but never had a bottle I thought worth the effort, although it would look fantastic.
I hadn't even thought about how the tape might age itself.

[Green Aura]

Portuguese wines might be good - cork production is (or at least was) one of their major industries.

[Weedo]

Another one for the Aussies - first wine in boxes and now screw to wine bottles. About all you can buy in Oz with a cork is bubbly (mostly plastic tops) or a few imported breeds. I have a few (very few) bottles with screw caps that have been on their side for up to 5 years without leakage.

I think that, because of the pressure applied when corking, putting corks into screw top bottles couId be a little risky as the glass in the necks is a little thinner? I have heard that there is a replacement screw top available for the home winemakers under the brand Nova?

[Brewtrog]

Wine boxes can actually (occasionally) be reused, depending on how the tap is connected to the bag. Though that is a very hot and miss chance.
I'd forgotten about the fact the glass is thinner, but now weedo mentions it, I've heard the same.
And again weedo's mind is better than mine. Novatwist are another way of closing wine bottles. I've never used them, but I have heard good things. (Though you don't get 750ml of free wine with your bottle )

[Skippy]

To be honest I've not heard of those Novatwist tops , probably need to check those out. The possibility of the glass breaking is something I'd read on the web but as the screwtop bottles I've got all have larger necks than my corkable bottles it's not something that's concerned me overly much.
I have reused the plastic liners from wine boxes , not for wine but as a lightweight collapsible water bottle for camping or hiking. Oddly enough it had never occurred to reuse one for wine.

[Weedo]

reusing the liners may work for short term storage (opportunity to invent a way of filling?) but I know the "use by date" for wine in boxes is way shorter than bottles (one simply does not cellar wine in boxes. 'tis'nt done old chap) so perhaps they are not the best storage option?