Capsules: Does anyone really mind going topless?

[Sean_S_y_d_n_e_y]

Wax is the most misunderstood seal. Stick your corkscrew though the top and pull. If you chip or cut it, you don’t know what you’re doing.

I open(ed) bottles for a living and even a 1% chance of the wax chipping off and falling into the wine is too often for my liking. Plus, you can’t flip the cork upside down and stopper the bottle with the same cork. Plus, sometimes the wax on the outside flakes off and gets all over a table. Plus, it makes it far more difficult to Coravin a wine.

Plus, NO. Zero purpose. Zero need. Zero desire.

[Nick_Ellis]

I feel like if you are making a wine you intend for customers to age for decades, put a capsule on it

Why?

I opened a Vega Sicilia from the 80’s recently. When I pulled off the capsule, the cork either fell into or was already in the bottle. The capsule had somehow managed to protect the wine in the interim.

I’m indifferent about having the capsule on bottles I will drink within 10 years of release, but I don’t mind having them on the long aging reds.

[Frank_Murray_III]

No capsule. Personally, I’m not moved by the romance nor tradition to cut the capsule and expose the glass top. Further, how much material are we producing that is ultimately discarded, and I estimate with very little recycled? Plus, the cost to the winery to buy these.

Go without it, Fred.

[StephenM1]

Ditch the capsule. Emboss logo or vintage on cork.

[Michael_Martin]

Wax is the most misunderstood seal. Stick your corkscrew though the top and pull. If you chip or cut it, you don’t know what you’re doing.

I open(ed) bottles for a living and even a 1% chance of the wax chipping off and falling into the wine is too often for my liking. Plus, you can’t flip the cork upside down and stopper the bottle with the same cork. Plus, sometimes the wax on the outside flakes off and gets all over a table. Plus, it makes it far more difficult to Coravin a wine.

Plus, NO. Zero purpose. Zero need. Zero desire.

Easier to ID the better bottles in the cellar? I found it easy to pull the wax off the top to reinsert the cork. YRMV.

[Sean_S_y_d_n_e_y]

Easier to ID the better bottles in the cellar?

One purpose.

[Michael_Martin]

Ditch the capsule. Emboss logo or vintage on cork.

+1 for vintage.

[BobMilton]

Go topless - one less thing to remove!

[Rich_K0rz_nk0]

Go topless - one less thing to remove!

Well put!

[Howard_Cooper]

Perhaps this would be better addressed by a poll set up by someone more knowledgeable than me. However, the following is the background behind my question.

A few weeks ago, I placed an order for capsules with a company I have done business with for nearly 30 years. The following day I was told that they have a new policy of requiring prepayment in full before the order is placed with the factory. Normally we have 30 days after delivery to pay and the lead time is at least 90 days between order and delivery. My response was that small wineries are having a difficult time with cash flow these days and this policy is making it worse. They replied that the corporate suppliers of their raw materials have changed terms to them for prepayment as well. I told them I was not ready to place an order under those terms. I might be able to wrap my head around a deposit to cover raw materials. But payment in full seems a bit much considering the amount of time involved.

We have used capsules since our first vintage decades ago and have continued as a tradition. I have seen newer producers start off without capsules and I appreciate their reasons for doing so. They have their own traditions. I am probably going topless too when we use up what we have in stock, at least as long as these policies are in place. After a couple of weeks, I’m still pretty pissed off about the situation and wonder who I should really be upset with.

I’m curious about others’ opinions on the value of capsules. It seems to me that they are the only non-essential part of the package: bottle, closure, label.

F

I find capsules in general to be nonessential. I find wax capsules to be an irritant.

[RichardFlack]

I voted no capsules but would like to register a much, much stronger vote for no wax.

Wax is Ok …

Except, please don’t put some fancy designin gold leaf on the top (looking at you, Julien Brocard), it comes off on the hand when warm the capsule prior to opening.

[edited as I misread the original)

[RichardFlack]

Wax is the most misunderstood seal. Stick your corkscrew though the top and pull. If you chip or cut it, you don’t know what you’re doing.

Warm it with palm of hand first.

[Marc_Hauser]

The capsule is like the appendix. Serves no purpose and you might cut yourself trying to remove it.

[Mattstolz]

I think there is pretty resounding votes for no capsules already but also wanted to chime in with the no capsule, PLEASE no wax crowd. use that money on something else, pass it along to the consumer, or take the extra tiny margin, plus one less piece of material that no one really needs and that just gets tossed.

[Andrew_Demaree]

I like bottles without capsules and, for older wines, it gives me an opportunity to see how the cork is holding up (i.e., is there wine running up the side, how high, etc.?).

[Peter_Petersen]

Can we also switch to screw caps while we are at it.

[Wes_Barton]

As a consumer, capsules are a minor hassle.

I’ve seen people note the materials waste they see with these. They aren’t even considering all the packaging to keep those delicate things protected to the bottling line.

Aesthetically, yes a good brand can look great, often better that a capsule. A distinct brand can help a producers wines stand out in a wine rack.

Aesthetically, the sleek clean look can be very attractive. Overall design considerations for the look need to include bottle shape and label design. A particular favorite is the reds from Cellars 33.

In working bottling lines with many many medium to tiny labels, one of the biggest snags is capsule problems. I could bore you with stories, but that’s a lot of waste and extra labor.

There are plenty of wineries going capsule free these days. It’s a good thing.

[PaulMills]

I vote no capsule but would appreciate a logo on the cork to help know what the bottle is a little easier in the cellar. I have bin locations labeled in CT, but I do not always have my phone or iPad with me.

[Steve_Anderson]

Wax is the most misunderstood seal. Stick your corkscrew though the top and pull. If you chip or cut it, you don’t know what you’re doing.

I open(ed) bottles for a living and even a 1% chance of the wax chipping off and falling into the wine is too often for my liking. Plus, you can’t flip the cork upside down and stopper the bottle with the same cork. Plus, sometimes the wax on the outside flakes off and gets all over a table. Plus, it makes it far more difficult to Coravin a wine.

Plus, NO. Zero purpose. Zero need. Zero desire.

All of the above, plus…on older bottles, the cork can be too weak to break through the wax. Have had a couple of disaster’s with waxed topped bottles from the 80’s and 90’s and now do my best to cut the wax before attempting to pull the cork on older bottles. Had an '01 Karl Lawrence Morisoli recently that had an extremely hard wax that was at least a quarter inch thick. No way the cork was coming through. Routinely pull corks through wax on newer bottles, but bottom line…no foil, no wax, no need.

Cheers!

Steve

[Cris_Whetstone]

I like capsules for aesthetics and tradition. That being said, they could certainly go and I’d be fine with it. I’m not certain there is any bonus for aging bottles. Maybe in extreme examples where corks have not been perfect and capsules were tight. I think that is likely an outlier situation. There is no reason to believe capsules are air tight.

A couple things though. I’ve worked in many cellars doing inventories and organizing. One thing the capsules can do is help identify bottles. I often have wished more producers put vintages on them but that is for selfish laziness. Another thing is that you can chip bottle tops(and even crack them) when wine is racked double deep. You get glass on glass touching without a capsule to buffer. Again, that’s probably a tiny bit but I’ve seen it more than once.

And another vote for no wax ever. Some think that all wax is pliable and can simply be pulled off with the cork. Not if the wax is either hard or has been hardened by age. In that case it crumbles but holds on exactly where you don’t want it to only to release itself once it makes eyesight with the liquid. Just don’t do it.