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Glass corks

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Ray Juskiewicz

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Glass corks

by Ray Juskiewicz » Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:38 pm

Opened a Oregon Chardonnay this week and was surprised to find a glass "stopper" under the capsule. After a little web surfing I learned that Alcoa makes a closure called the Vino-Seal that looks a lot like it.

Anyone else experience a glass cork?

By the way, the seemed to be in excellent condition.
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Mark Lipton

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Re: Glass corks

by Mark Lipton » Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:19 pm

Ray Juskiewicz wrote:Opened a Oregon Chardonnay this week and was surprised to find a glass "stopper" under the capsule. After a little web surfing I learned that Alcoa makes a closure called the Vino-Seal that looks a lot like it.

Anyone else experience a glass cork?

By the way, the seemed to be in excellent condition.


Yes, there's another product called Vino-Lok that I've encountered on some German wines. They're yet another way around the problems of cork stoppers.

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Re: Glass corks

by Max Hauser » Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:29 pm

They've been appearing on German bottles in the US in recent years, they've been discussed on some of the other wine fora. The German version I've seen, with its initially pressure-sealed thin plastic washer and its precise fit (more precise than an old-fashioned ground-glass bottle stopper) is impressive, seemed almost a waste on a disposable vessel.

I'm told there is (as always) a DIN technical standard for them in Germany. (In Germany they even have a technical standard for business letters, DIN 5008, I've had to consult it before.)

They share with other non-cork closures the issues about possibly losing some subtle aging effects at the same time they prevent the curse of cork taint (TCA). Big topic of discussion and research these days.
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Vino-Loc

by TomHill » Thu Oct 11, 2007 5:11 pm

Mark Lipton wrote: They're yet another way around the problems of cork stoppers.
Mark Lipton


But not a particularly superior way.

The Vino-Loc has a tight food-grade teflon O-ring-like seal at the top underneath the glass lip on top. Ridge had been doing experiments w/ alternative closures and found the Vino-Loc was significantly more prone to leakage than the Stelvin screwcap.

Tom
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Re: Vino-Loc

by David M. Bueker » Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:18 pm

And of course one winery's experiments are solid proof that a product is no good. :evil:

I've had nothing but good experiences with the vino-lok. Whether it can be useful for aging wines remains to be seen, but as I have asid numerous times previously: I would rather drink a great wine too young than pour it down the drain at maturity.
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Re: Vino-Loc

by Bill Hooper » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:03 am

I echo Davids sentiment. Vino-Lok rocks.
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Re: Glass corks

by ClarkDGigHbr » Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:46 am

I encountered my first glass stopper in July in a bottle of a white blend from COR cellars. I found my second one just a week ago in a bottle of Syncline Syrah. These two wineries are located a couple of miles from one another just outside Lyle, WA in the Columbia Gorge AVA. Neither bottle had any signs of leakage.

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Re: Glass corks

by Michael Pronay » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:54 am

Mark Lipton wrote:
Ray Juskiewicz wrote:Opened a Oregon Chardonnay this week and was surprised to find a glass "stopper" under the capsule. After a little web surfing I learned that Alcoa makes a closure called the Vino-Seal that looks a lot like it.

Yes, there's another product called Vino-Lok that I've encountered on some German wines.

Mark, Vino-Seal and Vino-Lok in priciple is the same product. Vino-Lok was developped by Alcoa Germany, Vino-Seal is the name on the US market.

Vino-Lok glass stoppers were first used in Austria by Rupert Summerer (Langenlois, Kamptal) in 2004 for the 2003 vintage; with vintage 2005 his entire production is under glass.

Today, my estimated guess is that some 50% of all white in Austria comes under screw-cap (the share is still growing), so Vino-Lok will remain a minority program.

TomHill wrote:Ridge had been doing experiments w/ alternative closures and found the Vino-Loc was significantly more prone to leakage than the Stelvin screwcap.

Maybe someone should have told them that you need special bottles for this kind of stopper ... :twisted:
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Re: Glass corks

by Mark Lipton » Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:59 am

Michael Pronay wrote:Mark, Vino-Seal and Vino-Lok in priciple is the same product. Vino-Lok was developped by Alcoa Germany, Vino-Seal is the name on the US market.


Aha. Thanks, Michael. Isn't it ironic that a glass stopper is introduced by the world's biggest producer of aluminum?


Today, my estimated guess is that some 50% of all white in Austria comes under screw-cap (the share is still growing), so Vino-Lok will remain a minority program.


Certainly that's been my experience. I haven't pulled a cork on an Austrian wine for the past 2-3 years, but I haven't seen a Vino-Lok on one, either.

Cheers!
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Ray Juskiewicz

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Re: Glass corks

by Ray Juskiewicz » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:08 am

I think the Alcoa interest is that on their web site they show an aluminum overcap on top of the glass cork. On my bottle of OR Chard, there was only a glass stopper and a capsule. No overcap.

Michael, is that the way it should be?
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David M. Bueker

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Re: Glass corks

by David M. Bueker » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:44 am

The overcap is only cosmetic/slightly protective. It's not strictly necessary as far as I know.
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Re: Glass corks

by ClarkDGigHbr » Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:19 pm

Of the two bottles I encountered recently , one had a capsule and the other had an overcap. -- Clark
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Re: Glass corks

by Michael Pronay » Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:42 pm

Whether overcap or capsule, the aim is the same: to prevent the glass stopper from popping out when the bottle gets warmer, something that happens from time to time when a bottle of white out of the fridge is left standing at room temperature.

And, of course, overcap and/or capsule are also the "tamper evident" side to make sure no one has takes a sip out of the bottle without being entitled to. :wink:
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Re: Glass corks

by wnissen » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:06 pm

Ray Juskiewicz wrote:I think the Alcoa interest is that on their web site they show an aluminum overcap on top of the glass cork. On my bottle of OR Chard, there was only a glass stopper and a capsule. No overcap.

I believe there are several variants, the Vino-Lok has the aluminum overcoat, the Vino-Seal does not. Certainly the most attractive stopper I've seen, I would love if it works as well as a Stelvin screwcap. I found a little research on the subject, which indicated that it made a big difference between cellar temperature and 77-86F. The Vino-Lok performed even worse than the relatively porous plastic cork at high temperatures, and like a Screwcap at low (59F) temperatures.

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Re: Glass corks

by David M. Bueker » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:25 pm

Well I hope nobody here is storing their wine at 77-86 degrees F!
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Re: Glass corks

by wnissen » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:39 pm

David M. Bueker wrote:Well I hope nobody here is storing their wine at 77-86 degrees F!

Well, exactly. Given that 95% of all bottled wine should be drunk within the year, it doesn't really matter what the SO2 level is at 24 months of 77+ degree heat. Probably it would be dead due to heat and light regardless of oxidation by that point. Still, it's a little worrying. Here's the charts, from ALTERNATIVE CLOSURES - A Technical Look. The glass corks are red and grey, labeled with VLG and VLP:
[img]http://nissens.net/images/vinoLokCold.png[/img]
[img]http://nissens.net/images/vinoLokWarm.png[/img]
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Re: Glass corks

by David M. Bueker » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:51 pm

It would only worry me if I didn't have a cellar that kept wine at 55 degrees (which I do).
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