Is it possible to cork screw-top wine bottles?

Question

Do normal corks and normal corkers work with them? Is there a greater risk of breaking the neck of the bottle during corking?

Answer 1

The neck on the screw cap bottles is exposed to much less stress than a cork bottle, so they are made thinner, and consequently cheaper.

Can and should you do it? This post on HBT sums it up nicely:

There are a couple of trains of thought with this.

1. physically, in most cases, it can be done
2. it doesn't have the greatest presentation, if that's not an issue for you, then ok
3. the glass at the threads is more prone to breakage, be careful
4. getting the cork out can sometimes be a problem because you don't have the thick glass to pry against.

Only you can decide if it's worth the expense or effort to get cork wine bottles.

There are several other posts on the same page claiming it can be done, but ideally only as a last resort.

Answer 2

I cork screw top bottles all the time (been making wine for 4 years now) and have yet to have an issue with them. I use use slightly narrower #8 corks for these bottles.