Instructions

1. Choose a corker. Consider how many bottles of wine you will make. Hand corkers, around $20, are fine for a first attempt and under a dozen bottles of wine. For more extensive bottling efforts, invest in a larger lever corker available from online brewing supply shops. They cost from $25 to slightly over $100.

2. Obtain corks 1 3/4-inch corks, the most useful in home wine making. Plastic varieties available for about the same cost, but get real corks to add that fine vineyard touch to your end product. Soak natural corks in a pan with 2 quarts of warm distilled water for 20 minutes.

3. Fill the clean wine bottles to 1 inch below where the bottom of the cork will be in the neck. Place the filled bottle into the corking device. Place the cork in the opening. With a smooth even stroke, insert the cork into the bottle. Wipe all moisture from the cork. Let the bottles sit upright for 24 hours to stabilize the air pressure before placing in a wine rack.