Whether you turn wood, acrylic, or any other material, wine bottle stoppers are a fun and fairly quick project that are also useful. Many people enjoy having that one glass of wine and need a way to temporarily reseal their newly opened bottle, so why not reseal them with a nice piece of art?
There are various types of wine bottle stopper kits you can choose from. They are made of different materials, and some of them have different shapes and profiles available. We are going to talk about the different materials because that is where the quality tends to varies.
A Tidbit of Information About Wine
Wine is naturally acidic, and this acidity is like the secret sauce in wine that makes it taste great and hold its structure. It’s all about the grapes, and this can be quite different depending on the kind of grapes, where they’re grown, and how the wine is made. Red wines usually have a lower acidity level than white wines.
The acidity of wine typically ranges from 2.5 to around 4.5 pH. The lower the number, the more acidic, and a pH of 7 is neutral and anything above 7 is alkaline. As you may already know, acidity causes corrosion when in contact with certain materials. Because of this acidity, the choice in material for a wine bottle stopper may be important to you.
Available Materials
The materials listed below are ones that I know exist for wine bottle stoppers. Each have their own pros and cons, but most of them perform fairly well. Due to the wines acidity, a quality material is desired to reduce or prevent corrosion to the wine bottle stopper.
Chrome
The chrome bottle stoppers have a chrome plated finish. These are nice bottle stoppers, but they are known to tarnish over time and that does concern some people and it will take away the beauty of the stopper. The price for these aren’t too bad, so for a products quality that is mid-range, they still make a great choice for nice projects. These have been my go to product for quite a few years until stainless-steel came out.
Black Titanium Nitride
This is another plated finish, but unlike the chrome plating, this one is known for not tarnishing which makes it a higher quality product. I will have to give this style a try one day.
Since I haven’t made a bottle stopper with this type yet, you can check out the looks of it here at Penn State Industries.
Gold Titanium
Gold Titanium is yet another plated finish. Reading the reviews of this particular stopper, people appear to like it more than the chrome plated finish…something to think about if you were to make these to sell.
Since I haven’t made a bottle stopper with this type yet, you can check out the looks of it here at Penn State Industries.
Stainless-Steel
The stainless-steel wine bottle stoppers are a more recent creation, I believe. I first came across them on nilesbottlestoppers.com a few years ago. According to their About Us page, Ruth created the first stainless-steel bottle stopper way back in 2005.
Stainless steel is highly resistant to corrosion and rust. This property ensures that the stopper remains in excellent condition even when exposed to wine and moisture.
To the untrained eye, some people may not be able to notice the difference between the stainless steel and chrome stoppers. What I have found is that the stainless steel stoppers have very fine grooves along its surface. You can feel them when you scrape your fingernail down the surface. These grooves are probably from the creation of the stopper. I am assuming they were created on a metal turning lathe. The chrome stoppers are smoother and do not have the grooves.
Cork
Cork has been used on new bottles of wine for many years, it can be traced back to the 17th century.
A problem with cork bottle stoppers is the possibility of cork taint, which is an off-odor and/or off-flavor due to spoilage from a particular chemical compound, trichloroanisole (TCA). That is where synthetic corks and screw caps came into play.
You can still get cork wine bottle stoppers for wood turning kits. Even though I have one, I have not yet used it to seal an open bottle of wine. I treat it more like a piece of art than a functional bottle stopper. Cork bottle stoppers are usually inserted into the bottle with quite a bit of pressure and then they are sealed by moisture causing the cork to expand. I am not sure how that will work with a removable and reusable stopper such as these. However, looking over the reviews on Penn State Industries, people seem to like them. I still question their effectiveness.
Silicone
This is the cheap of the cheap, but they still work very well and serve the purpose of resealing the bottle if you aren’t drinking the whole bottle in one sitting. They certainly are not as fancy as any of the metal ones, but if the fanciness isn’t what you are looking for and you want something that is functional, these will do just fine.
Need a Christmas project? Make some trees and snowmen on the lathe! They are a fun little project and there are various ways you can make them. Just get creative.
Adjustable Seal
I had a coworker who was into wine and when he found out that I turn wine bottle stoppers, he asked if there were any that would reseal the bottle while still storing the bottle on it’s side. He was mostly referring to the chrome plated ones listed above. I did not feel comfortable with those being on their side and then I came across the adjustable seal stopper. I made one for him with this kit and the last I heard from him was that this stopper worked for what he was looking for.
Conclusion
Wine bottle stopper kits come in various styles and finishes. Some are better quality than others and some just look better with a certain type of wood. Experiment with different styles. Once you have the tools to turn a wine bottle stopper, the hobby is pretty affordable compared to many other hobbies.
Wine bottle stoppers are a fun project to make. There are a lot of people who enjoy their glass of wine and need to seal up the bottle for a little while until they are ready for that next glass of wine. They make nice gifts, especially when made with some kind of special wood or beautiful acrylic. If the wood has an interesting history or story behind it, include that story with the gift. It adds to the conversation.
Rick Simper has various hobbies, including woodworking, metalworking, composting, and gardening. He is an Architect full time and uses these hobbies to get away from the busy week of Architecture.