The Cork covered capsule, which usually contains a print indicating the wine or producer. This capsule is the upper part of a foil that closely surrounds the bottle neck. This protects the Cork from drying out, contamination with, for example, Bacteria, as well as infestation by the Cork Moth and its egg-laying, and also slows down the OTR (gas exchange) between the bottle contents and the outside world or the ingress of Oxygen. Last but not least, it also serves a decorative purpose.
The capsule can be made from various materials. The previously common toxic Lead, which was euphemistically referred to as a tin capsule (originally a lead-silver alloy), is now banned in winemaking. Today, capsules are made from neutral, non-toxic Tin (also referred to as tin), the much cheaper but not as closely fitting Aluminum, and especially for simple wines from plastics such as PET, Polyethylene, PVC, or PVDC.
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The glossary is a monumental achievement and one of the most important contributions to wine knowledge. Of all the encyclopaedias I use on the subject of wine, it is by far the most important. That was the case ten years ago and it hasn't changed since.
Andreas Essl
Autor, Modena