So, what's the point of those d*** wax capsules?

Opened a 2011 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette tonight and it seems to me that wax capsules are just a pain. Takes too long to get them off and it makes such a mess. I just don’t see the value. Even on Leroy’s the capsules have cracks in them and they don’t seem to do anything to stop leaks. So what’s the point, and for that matter, what are metal or plastic capsules supposed to accomplish? Are they just for looks?

At least the wine was pretty good after a little air.

Just dig thru it with a waiters corkscrew and then use it like normal after that. Works every time for me

They are not difficult to navigate, but the point is … marketing.

And I guess that’s the reason to use big ass bottles that don’t fit racks and would be better used as weapons instead of wine containers.

Bingo. What other way is there?

Those Damn Wax Capsules … Those Damn Wax Capsules.... - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

Poll - Wax Capsules: Good, bad or ugly? Poll - Wax Capsules: Good, bad or ugly? - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

The other way might be the right way.

No need for wax…I’m usually in the same camp of just cork screwing right through it… but sometimes you get some that just crumble and explode all over…like the 2011 Michel Gahier Trousseau Arbois Grands Vergers that had just the top part waxed…and I just rammed the corkscrew right threw it…and it shattered all over the place! Too much mess for me! Get rid of it!!!

I thought the was was there so I can slice my finger open.

Wax is needless. I think it looks nice, but the hassle greatly outweighs the payoff. Makes getting a cork out more difficult, makes it easy to cut yourself, and almost always gets little bits of tasty wax in your wine.

Probably just marketing for wineries. Like capsules. Also unnecessary. Though I guess they both add to the romance and tradition of wine.

The few Zinds I uncorked have a piece of wax under the foil. Do they serve a purpose?

This will certainly not work all of the time, but it’s pretty slick. A waiter took our bottle between his thumb and forefinger and gave it several tight spins to warm the wax. The blade took the top off quick in one chunk. I have replicated with luck and prior to that it was a chipping mess. Granted this is the only wax top wine we have.

Usually, if you warm the top of the capsule under warm water from the tap (just the top), the wax will pull off in one piece or will cut off very easily in one piece. I just did this last night with a Ceritas Heitz Vineyard Chardonnay, and I’ve done it successfully with various Dunn Howell Mountain bottles.

Just repeat after me … Screw Cap, Screw Cap, Screw Cap …

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey believes it does serve a purpose.

From Jancis Robinson.com:

In Chassagne, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, son of Marc Colin, maintained the high standard and tight, nervy style that has won him such plaudits over his first eight years on his own, picking in early September 2009 after some water stress in the vineyards. He deliberately racked the wine four times rather than the usual once because ‘the wines need to be helped to open out’. Despite all this, these were some of the most unevolved 2009s I tried. From the same cellar, a range of wines from his wife Caroline Morey is also now available. As a matter of policy in his fight against premox, he uses untreated corks and then protects against oxidation by applying a rather annoying but clearly effective wax capsule.

I just take the blade of a foil cutter and cut the wax across the top of the bottle. Whether it is the type of wax that dries hard and brittle or the type that is more like candlewax this seems to be the most effective way to deal with it. YMMV.

I’m with the OP on the wax and the war club bottles. Both are marketing at the expense of the customer’s convenience. I have also had the entire wax capsule fall off in the cellar after a few years.

Slightly OT, but the honking big bottle is just plain selfish. Most of us have limited bin or rack space for oversize bottles, and would prefer to use it for large format or Champagne, where there is at least some reason for the size.

I agree the wax is a pain. What about no capsule at all? Copain and others seem to be doing this more and more. I too love the screwcap option but there seems to be some romance missing with no cork.

He uses them and Raveneau uses them. They are the ONLY two top flight white burg producers from whom I have never had a premoxed bottle. Coincidence? Maybe. But I’m far more likely to buy their bottles with the wax capsule and the mess it makes then some others where the effective cost per bottle is far higher when several bottles per case go down the drain in drinkable.

Agreed. Screwcap is a great solution to corked wine, but it lacks a lot of the tradition and romance. I guess that’s why you’d argue for keeping the foil capsules too, but they seem less necessary than the cork to the whole process.