Phillippe Marceaux Fine Wine Restoration & Recorking

Welcome to Phillippe Marceaux Fine Wine Restoration & Recorking. We offer professional certified vintage wine bottle re-corking, and offer either in-house cork replacement, or we'll send a technician to your cellar. We service bars, restaurants, and of course, private cellars.

Protect your Investment!  Recorking DOES NOT de-value your wine. In fact, when done professionally, it maintains, if not increases the value of your vintage wines. Potential buyers will realize that you have gone the extra step to ensure your wine collection does not get damaged by air or tainted by rotten corks. With our certification, any potential buyer can call or email us to verify the wine that they are purchasing has been professionally recorked to the highest standards.

Typically recorking should be done every 10-15 years. Wine corks simply do not last much longer without deterioration, even when stored properly.  Once the cork deteriorates enough to let air in, the wine is soon completely destroyed. Additionally, even if the cork does keep a seal, it will most certainly crumble and taint your wine upon opening. Please do not allow your expensive vintage wine bottles to suffer such a fate.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED OR ARE PURCHASING A BOTTLE OF WINE WHICH WE HAVE RECORKED, AND WISH TO HAVE VERIFICATION, PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL TO: PHILLIPPEMARCEAUX@GMAIL.COM WITH THE FOLLOWING IN THE SUBJECT LINE:  "RECORK SERIAL NUMBER: XXXXXX". - AND JUST INSERT THE SERIAL NUMBER WHERE THE "X"s ARE.

ONCE AGAIN IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE SERIAL NUMBER BE IN THE SUBJECT LINE SO THAT THE EMAIL IS NOT CONFUSED WITH SPAM. THE CONTENT OF THE EMAIL MAY HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT.

WE WILL SEND YOU BACK AN EMAIL CONFIRMING THE DETAILS OF THE RECORKING WITHIN 24 HOURS.

The following gives a detailed explanation of our procedure:

1. First the wine capsule is cut to expose the top of the cork. Unlike many recorking companies, we try our best to keep most of the capsule intact, only cutting under the lip of the top of the bottle.

2. The cork is carefully extracted. Generally we can extract corks using a durand corkscrew, as shown. However we have more specialized cork extractors if deemed necessary.

3. Immediately, an inert gas mixture is sprayed into the bottle and a sample is poured into a glass for inspection. Inert gas is sprayed again into the bottle after pouring out the sample and a temporary cork is placed on the bottle. The inert gas mixture is composed of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon gas, and creates a barrier so that air does not come into contact with the wine.

4. If the Wine owner has chosen to have his wine certified, the wine sample is inspected. The sample is examined under light, is generously sniffed and carefully tasted. For signed certification, the wine must pass this test. Any tainted or spoiled wine will not be certified. In such an occurrence, the wine owner is immediately notified, and the temporary cork will remain. Recorking will not continue. If the wine owner chooses NOT to have the wine certified, then the Phillippe Marceaux label will clearly note that the wine was NOT inspected or tasted for quality, and NO signature or seal will be present on the label. Phillippe Marceaux is not a wine critic, the wine is only certified not to be spoiled or tainted at the time of certification.

5. At this time any floating cork fragments present in the wine is removed using a cork retriever.

6. At the wine owners request, at this point the wine may be topped-up with a current vintage of the wine being recorked. This option is completely up to the owner. Additional fees will apply, and will vary based on the wine being serviced.

7. A new cork is pressed into the bottle using a compression corker. PLEASE READ: Unlike most other companies we DO NOT VACUUM OUT THE AIR prior to inserting the cork. If you create a vacuum by sucking out the air and then cork the wine, there will be negative pressure in the wine bottle. Over time, air will slowly get sucked in through the tiny holes in the cork. AIR AND OXYGEN IS WINES ENEMY. DO NOT ALLOW YOUR WINE TO BE RECORKED THIS WAY. At Phillippe Marceaux, we fill the bottle with our inert gas mixture prior to corking. This creates positive presssure inside the bottle, and over time the gas will escape out of the cork until the pressure inside the bottle and outside the bottle are equal. This ensures that only the inert gas will remain in the bottle, and no oxygen will seep in. This is a better procedure than is even performed at the winery, and your wine will be protected for many years to come.

8. A silver wax seal is embossed on top of the cork. This seal will bear the french fleur de lis and will ensure a tamper-resistant barrier.

9. Then, our signature gold foil ribbon is glued under the lip of the bottle to make a beautiful finished transition between the cut label and the bottle.

10. The final step. The label is filled out with the appropriate information including the date of recorking, the wine, and wine vintage, and whether or not the wine has been topped off and certified. This label is placed on the BACK of the bottle. If the wine has passed certification, the label will include the signature of the certifier and a red wax seal with the fleur de lis logo that matches the cork seal. Each label has its own serial number which is associated with that particular wine recorkage. There is a database which has a record of every recorking we've ever done.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED OR ARE PURCHASING A BOTTLE OF WINE WHICH WE HAVE RECORKED, AND WISH TO HAVE VERIFICATION, PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL TO: PHILLIPPEMARCEAUX@GMAIL.COM WITH THE FOLLOWING IN THE SUBJECT LINE:  "RECORK SERIAL NUMBER: XXXXXX". - AND JUST INSERT THE SERIAL NUMBER WHERE THE "X"s ARE.

ONCE AGAIN IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE SERIAL NUMBER BE IN THE SUBJECT LINE SO THAT THE EMAIL IS NOT CONFUSED WITH SPAM. THE CONTENT OF THE EMAIL MAY HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT.

WE WILL SEND YOU BACK AN EMAIL CONFIRMING THE DETAILS OF THE RECORKING WITHIN 24 HOURS.

An example of a finished recorked bottle:

Prices for recorking are as follows:

• Up to 500 bottles: $100.00 per bottle
• Over 500 bottles: Contact us for a quote

Extras:

• On-site visits will require travel time and expenses. We are based in Florida, but will travel nationwide. Please contact us for a quote.
• Topping-off with current vintage requires the purchase of a new bottle of wine for this purpose. Each bottle of wine is obviously a different price, so topping-off prices are given on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for a price.
• Decanting and removing sediment. This is only done for wines which are to be consumed within a few days. Once again, depending on the amount of sediment involved, the time it takes to decant the wine can vary greatly. This is also done on a case-by-case basis. Contact us for a price.

Our priority is customer satisfaction and therefore we strive for professionalism. With our long experience we can guarantee the best service at reasonable prices. We prefer an individual approach, and therefore fully focused on the needs and requirements of each customer.