1

The question says it all. I am sure they are great for wines that will be consumed young, but what about for wines you are going to store for longer periods of time? Months, years?

Improve this question

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
2

FWIW, I made a batch of blackberry blossom mead years ago that took FOREVER to finish fermenting, and after it had been apparently stable for some time, I wound up getting impatient and bottling it when it still had a smidge more of residual sugars than I generally go for. I've always used 1L swing-top bottles, and that time was no different.

Roughly half the bottles were part of a new box of EZ Cap bottles (like these), and half were essentially the same bottles scavenged from store-bought beverages (beer and cider) -- all assiduously cleaned, naturally.

Fast forward three years, and I had the most beeyoo​tiful blackberry-scented champagne. None were flat, and none were bottle bombs.

If you're making flat wine, I can't imagine that the bottles would give you any grief, barring any quality problems with the bottles themselves (like bad or loose spring-tops, as mentioned by dmtaylor in the comments).

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    I am assuming that full bottles of this sort are stored standing up? There is no cork to keep wet, and I would guess you wouldn't want the plastic in contact with the wine over long periods of time.
    – Escoce
    Sep 10, 2019 at 18:17
  • @Escoce, yes, I've got an odd large unfinished closet in the basement with shelves all along one wall that the previous occupant used for her canning. Now I use that for my mead bottles, stored standing upright on the shelves. It's right up against the concrete of the foundation, nice and cool.
    – Eiríkr Útlendi
    Sep 10, 2019 at 20:40
3

The gaskets will last for 10 years or more in my experience, with no loss of pressure or quality, assuming you don't start with terribly degraded gaskets already.

Improve this answer
2
  • Did you do anything special for this? Using the cheap swing-top bottles I always struggled to maintain proper beer carbonation. I tried changing-out the gaskets for new ones (even though the originals were new), but it just didn't help. Tried lubrication too. Maybe it was the bottles.
    – Kingsley
    Sep 9, 2019 at 2:45
  • 2
    It might be the metal spring fastener. Those fail before anything else in my experience, and if you bought your bottles wholesale, it's possible you got some junky fasteners that just won't hold the pressure. All my own bottles are real Grolsch bottles that once held real beer, so I know they work. I haven't changed the gaskets in over 10 years and they all still hold pressure no problem. Over the years I think I had 2 leakers out of many hundreds or maybe thousands bottled. I have a few of the larger wine bottle size as well but to be honest I have not used them much yet.
    – dmtaylor
    Sep 9, 2019 at 10:58
1

I have no data on this issue. But it seems from other posts you are really cranking out the wine production. I'd encourage you to set aside 10% of your bottles in the next few batches to put in swing tops. Then let us know 4, 8, 12months down the road how the wine is holding up against some traditionally corked bottles.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Well maybe I exaggerated a little in anticipation of what I plan to be brewing. I am growing my glass collection and filling up carboys almost as fast as they arrive it seems. This weekend I didn’t start anything new, but I planned on a lemon wine that will just have to wait until this next weekend or a burst of motivation one of these evenings.
    – Escoce
    Sep 9, 2019 at 23:37

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.