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Synthetic Cork

Your Wedding, Your Wine - Three Ideas To Make It Memorable

We know that you could save thousands of dollars if you make your own wine to serve your guests at your wedding. And if you do decide to do that, not only can you save money, you can also stamp your homemade wine with your personality to make the event that much more special. Let's look at some things you might want to think about and plan for:

What's Your Style?

Traditionally, white wine comes in clear bottles, while red wine generally is bottled in bottles with a green tint to them. Other tinted colors such as brown are also used to bottle red wine. There are also a variety of shapes of bottles but the most commonly sold at home winemaking supply shops is the standard "Bordeaux" style bottle. It is quite possible that your local wine supply shop will only carry green and clear Bordeaux bottles, so you may not be aware that there are a variety of bottle styles and colors that you can choose from. How about Cobalt Blue colored bottles for your red wine? You might be able to match the wine bottle color to your main colors of your wedding reception.

Perhaps you have a favorite bottle but can't locate it in the retail market - something like the unique shaped bottle that La Fiore Chateauneuf-du-Pape comes in. Find a restaurant that sells that wine and ask them to keep those bottles for you instead of throwing them into their trash or recycle bin. All you'll need to do is rinse them out and sanitize them, and you can then fill them with your wine.

Whatever you decide, it's best to have your red wine in a bottle that is a different color from your white wine bottles for easy identification.

What's In A Label?

Although many of the more expensive wine kits come with attractive labels that identify the grape variety or style the wine is made from, most of the less expensive kits do not have such labels. However, your local wine supply shop will likely have a large selection of labels that you simply moisten and then stick on your bottles. But there are other options as well. You could have your own custom labels, designed by you. Information on the label could include the type of wine as well as the bride and groom's name and the date of marriage. You could choose your own graphics that will go on the label.

Know someone artistic? For some extra pizazz, ask them if they will hand paint the bottles for you instead of you sticking on labels. If you find such a person, be sure to have some extra bottles of your wine to give them as a thank you gift for all that work!

To match the label, be sure to choose capsules that co-ordinate with the colors of the label and the bottle. Capsules offer additional protection to the cork closures in the bottle.

To Cork Or Not

Although some believe that using synthetic cork is a sign of an inferior product when it comes to wine, this is absolutely not true. Many of the finest vineyards in the world are moving towards synthetic corks and even screw top openings for their wines. There are many reasons for this which is beyond the scope of this article, but you will have two choices as far as the closures you use on your homemade wine bottles: Natural cork and synthetic cork.

When making the decision whether to use natural or synthetic cork, consider where and how you will be storing your bottles of wine before the wedding. If using natural cork, you will need to be storing your wine filled bottles on their sides, ensuring the cork is in constant contact with the wine. This helps to prevent the cork from drying out and shrinking, which could allow for air to enter the bottle, oxidizing your wine. If you will need to store your bottles standing up, then definitely choose the synthetic cork which does not shrink, and therefore does not need to be in constant contact with the wine inside the bottle.

If you are going to go with the more traditional natural cork, choose the best and longest corks you can get, especially if you are going to be aging your wine for more than a year. They offer the best protection to your wine in the long run. Stay away from "conglomerate" cork which is made up of pieces of cork, glued together and then shaped. Stick with the best cork stoppers you can find.

Planning your own homemade wine can be an exciting and fun activity for your wedding! Not only will you save a ton of money, but you'll have an opportunity to put even more of a stamp of the character of the bride and groom on that special day that will be remembered for a long time!

About the Author

Ian Hugh Scott has been making his own wine for years. As well as wines from commercially available kits, he has discovered the pleasures of experimenting with other ingredients such as black currants, strawberries, blueberries, and even ginger and parsnip! Follow along with Ian's regular home winemaking activities.

Natural or Synthetic - Cork myths