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Champagne corks - 3/8/2023 9:43:20 AM

gruqqt@gmail.com

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Most Champagne and sparkling wine corks show dramatic expansion when removed. Some higher end Champagnes corks do not have noticeable expansion. Is this a result of type of cork, cork length, bottle neck size, or?

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RE: Champagne corks - 3/8/2023 4:46:40 PM

khmark7

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Curious if those higher end Champagne bottles are being consumed with more age on them, which would likely effect the cork.

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RE: Champagne corks - 3/9/2023 3:09:42 AM

dad300

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quote:

ORIGINAL: khmark7

Curious if those higher end Champagne bottles are being consumed with more age on them, which would likely effect the cork.

was ruminating on this question last night.. age may be the biggest factor in it.. the other thing that may play into it is the style of the champagne/sparkling cork.. as all sparkling corks are multiple piece construction.. what the core and the side pieces.. are made of make a difference too. I have noticed that the corks made of composite material or the shredded and reformed corks tend (think Diam) to not expand as much once they are out of the bottle.. whereas the ones that appear to be more natural cork seem to expand a bit more.

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RE: Champagne corks - 3/14/2023 1:45:09 AM

forceberry

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quote:

ORIGINAL: dad300

was ruminating on this question last night.. age may be the biggest factor in it.. the other thing that may play into it is the style of the champagne/sparkling cork.. as all sparkling corks are multiple piece construction.. what the core and the side pieces.. are made of make a difference too. I have noticed that the corks made of composite material or the shredded and reformed corks tend (think Diam) to not expand as much once they are out of the bottle.. whereas the ones that appear to be more natural cork seem to expand a bit more.

It's the age. The Champagne stoppers have the same construction, so there's no difference between a higher-end and lower-end Champagne corks. The only thing that matters is time after disgorgement, because the cork loses its elasticity over time - meaning that the older it is, the less it will try to return to its original shape after it has been removed from the neck of the bottle. The oldest Champagne corks are very tough, almost rock-hard Champignon mushrooms that don't expand at all after a bottle has been popped.

And I've found that agglomerated corks (like DIAM) expand more after they've been extracted from the bottle. How I've found this out? Usually it's possible to wiggle a cork back into the bottle, but most DIAM corks are simply impossible to jam back into the bottle, unless this is done almost immediately after opening a bottle. They expand a lot and don't give in enough to fit into the bottle without extra tools - even if they still seem relatively soft and elastic and you'd think it wouldn't be hard to get it fit back in.

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RE: Champagne corks - 3/14/2023 12:01:11 PM

gruqqt@gmail.com

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I have 8 corks sized at the wine side from a dime to half dollar Schramsberg, Mumm, Gloria Ferrer, Jansz, Seconde Collard, Chanoine, Paul Bara all NV. All purchased in last 6 months. One would not guess that they were from the same sized bottle neck. The Gloria Ferrer is 4X diameter of the Schramsberg.

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