Closures for wine bottles

There are many ways to seal wine bottles. Unfortunately, the worst of all methods is also the most commonly used: the cork. Corks are expensive, rare and prone to error. They do not last forever, because they will eventually become brittle and leak, and the worst: they are the cause of the common wine faults , the corked .

Unfortunately, the consumer associates with a cork, but a good wine and wine with a worse alternative closures. I would be happy if one day would change. I am tired of constantly having to pour wine, just because I have once again caught a corked. It is said that two to ten percent of all affected with cork sealed bottles with a cork taint. This is clearly too much!

It is repeatedly claimed that the maturation of wine corks are useful because they allow some air exchange. I think this is a persistent rumor, and I am convinced that a wine is aged under complete exclusion of air at the best and safest. Studies have also shown that the air found in the bottle is sufficient to mature fully, an air exchange with the environment must take place not so.

Natural corks

These are extracted from the bark of the cork oak. This is a pure natural product. A natural cork is better, the longer and more elastic it is. The quality of the cork is even better, the smoother the surface. This will be partly simulated by cosmetics.

The coating of cork, incidentally, hardly with paraffin, but usually with a silicone-rubber mixtures are used, to improve sealing, especially when the storage, and the improvement of the closing behavior.

Very good more expensive cork a bottle of wine up to a €!

Natural cork has to grow and can not be produced in any quantity. It is becoming increasingly rare.

For more information see the glossary

Interesting info on the issue of ensuring at Korkschmeckern

Press corks

Treated corks

To avoid Korkschmeckern there have been various attempts to treat corks before using chemically or physically. Particularly euphoria was traded this method to sterilize the cork by a microwave treatment before. There are now but a lot of critical voices that no longer believe in the usefulness of this method.

Currently there under the name "Suberase" a process in which the substances responsible for the corked should be disabled by means of an enzyme. There are still no significant experience.

Plastic corks

A compromise between the aesthetic requirements of consumers who do not want to give up the "pop-effect" on the one hand and the problems of natural cork on the other hand, the plastic cork.

This is generated as polyethylene or a mixture of rubber and Teflon and shows very promising results. But the experience is of course very short (6-7 years). So you can hardly yet be estimated, as the plastic cork is classified in the long term. In particular, there is the role of plasticizers in the plastic and its interaction with the wine still no clear examination results of long-term experiments.

And there is another problem has not definitively stated: Some plastic corks compared to natural corks reduced SO _{2 is} much faster.

Plastic corks are colored the way in natural and colored finishes.

Gives some additional information about that on the side of a provider .

Screw

I think that from a purely practical point out the best closure - very inexpensive, but highly effective. The closure will remain for ages sealed, corked it does not exist, and, incidentally, he is still virtually unrivaled in order to close an opened bottle.

Unfortunately, screw caps were used traditionally because of the price advantage rather easy drinking wines, so that the consumer just does it automatically with a screw cap connects a cheap wine. I provide great respect for the producers who have the courage to improve their wines with a screw cap.

Very far is the way to Switzerland, in the screw caps are much more common than in other countries.

Bottle Cap

Particularly in Austria wine bottles are sealed with a crown cap. In my view, also an alternative that's better than the cork. In Germany, for example, used the estate Querbach a bottle cap under the name "stainlesscap" (see picture left).

Other alternatives

At present everywhere in the developed world more alternatives. The approaches are very different.

For example, a closure system is developed from pure glass, wherein the glass of the closure with the glass of the bottle is fused.

The manufacturer Alcoa developed Vino-Lok (left). There is also a glass stopper which makes thanks to plastic seal for a very good product. For safety, the plug is still accompanied by a cap made of aluminum. Advantage of this system is in addition to the claims of the manufacturer high density and neutrality, the fact that no tool is needed to open. The secure resealing the opened bottle is given.

For more information

• By Dr. Andrew Schmitt on the magazine
• Comment by Utz Graafmann on in the magazine
• Investigation of the Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture on
• Site-www.verschlusssache wein.de

Utz Graafmann