Wine bottle sealing wax

[Old Crab]

Not sure what to do.

I have a friend that is a home brewer making wines and she asked if I could supply her with different colored wax to seal her wine bottles.

I briefly looked online and I have noticed a similar wax being used for sealing documents and using a ring. I might have put that badly.

Anyway - any ideas on a suitable wax I could use for this?

I'm assuming it needs to be paraffin or beeswax or a lend of the two.

I'd hate to tell her to just buy what is offered since she is a friend but i may end up doing that.

Tia

[Chefmom]

look for the kind of wax that is used to wax cheese blocks. It is more pliable and would work for bottles. Regular paraffin that you can buy in blocks in the grocery store is going to be too brittle.

[emilyspoppy]

Not sure what to do.

I have a friend that is a home brewer making wines and she asked if I could supply her with different colored wax to seal her wine bottles.

I briefly looked online and I have noticed a similar wax being used for sealing documents and using a ring. I might have put that badly.

Anyway - any ideas on a suitable wax I could use for this?

I'm assuming it needs to be paraffin or beeswax or a lend of the two.

I'd hate to tell her to just buy what is offered since she is a friend but i may end up doing that.

Tia

I remember being told at the Post Office/Printing Shop on Duke of Glouster Street in Colonial Williamsburg, VA that sealing wax was made by adding shellac flakes to beeswax and dying it with cochineal. I might be wrong, but that was what I remember. You might find the "recipe" on the internet.

I agree with Chefmom that the red wax used to coat Gouda Cheese and other cheeses would make a better wine sealing wax than sealing wax which is very hard and brittle.

If I were making my own wine bottle sealing wax, I would make a blend of 75% General Purpose Paraffin/25% Bleached Beeswax dyed a rich red color for my red wines and a deep green for my whites. An addition of Stearic acid or Vybar would be an aid to opacity.

When using, I would allow the wax to be as cool as practical to permit a thick coating without having to do numerous dips. A small monogram stamp on the tip would make a classy touch. I would also bear in mind that it would still be important to store the bottles in a manner that the contents kept the cork from drying out.

I have made my own wine, but it was many years ago. I found I preferred the store bought variety. I do know that wine making supply stores, sell bottle sealing wax. If she's looking for special colors you may want to come to her aid. You also might encourage her in the use of a presto pot if she doesn't use a similar melter. I doubt that this will be a profitable enterprise for you, but it might be fun and a value to a friend.

For the record, shellac flakes can be purchased from art supply stores. They are a bit pricey. Shellac is made from the carcasses of a certain type of beetles. AKA; "Shellac Beetles"

I have made sealing wax as a young man. It was an interesting project. Useless, but interesting. I skipped the cochineal and used a red candle dye, though. If memory serves me right; cochineal is another "bug-body" product. It was many years ago.

Let us know what you wind up doing, please.

TIA

JMO/HTH

Dave @ Charlotte Hall Country Candles

[Old Crab]

Great ideas - thank you both.

I did email IGI as well - good luck with that I'm thinking.

I'll do a bit more research and see what kind of materials and such are available and do some tests on some old bottles when I can.