But why do we dress them, only to undress them later?

Just like us, a bottle of wine is always dressed before being shown in public, and since 1830 it has been capped with a capsule (also called the foil) that covers its neck, ring and collar. Many wonder—is it for its beauty and elegance, or for hygienic reasons, or for protection against fraud and malevolence? If the capsule has its historical origins, as well as an an informative purpose, the natural wine movement has stripped it to make their wine more commercial. So, the real question is: can we even trust a bottle that reveals its underwear before we buy it?

The History of the Capsule

Its history dates to 1760, when wine arrived in Vienna from Bordeaux not in bottles, but in barrels. Over time, these wines lost their quality and began to sour, so they were bottled in glass to preserve them in anaerobic conditions. But this didn’t entirely fix the problem of lost quality entirely, because it was soon realized that the cork was sometimes manipulated to infiltrate substances into the wine, altering it or swapping it out altogether. To prevent the counterfeiting or manipulation of the wines, the monarchs introduced a law that decreed that all bottles of wine should be sealed with either wax or tar.

The Birth of the Modern Capsule

Modern capsules as we know them now appeared in the 18th century. Some claim that lead capsules began to be used in Hungary for wines that were of higher quality and more luxurious, in order to keep track of production. But for others, it is an invention of a certain André Georges Dupré, a wine and spirits merchant who in 1832, by imagining "a tin lead capsule, suitable for hermetically covering the orifice of the bottle or vase to which it must adapt" filed his patent in 1833.

Its Evolution

The first capsules were made of lead, though this quickly transition to tin, which was considered superior and so was used for high-end wines. Then after that came the lead-tin capsule, which for a time was the most widely used material, consisting of a sheet of lead covered with layers of tin—today, however, it is gradually disappearing due to environmental laws. Some capsules are made of complex materials consisting of aluminum and polyethylene plates, they are usually made in two pieces and facilitate the opening of medium and high-quality wines. PVC is the cheapest and simplest option, but it reduces the printing and design possibilities. Additionally, in several countries, PVC is banned and therefore obsolete due to its environmental impact and its recycling restrictions. Finally, we have the aluminum capsule, which is commonly used and is made entirely from aluminum, a recyclable material.

The Tax Stamp, or the CRD Capsule in Europe

The official name of a wine bottle cap is the "Capsule Représentation de Droit (CRD) or Capsule congé", and is composed of two elements. Strictly speaking, the capsule refers to the thin layer of aluminum (previously made of lead or tin) that covers and protects the neck, whose shape it perfectly fits. On the upper part of the capsule, "the fillet" is the printed and colored paper disc, located just above the cork: it contains administrative information about the bottler. Thus, the wine capsule is both the protective layer that wraps around the neck and this administrative document informing the customs authorities about the bottling. (This disc is rarely present on wines intended for export and certainly non-existent for American production bottles.)

Even if this practice is disappearing, the color of the capsule refers to the type of wine in the bottle, which obeys an internationally regulated color code. Thus, the blue capsule indicates table wine or local wine. The green capsule is common to sparkling wine, in particular wine with a controlled or protected designation of origin, though not exclusively. The red Burgundy capsule can replace the green or blue, except in the case of an AOC Champagne. The orange capsule is reserved for natural sweet wines. Capsules of another color (red, white, gold, gray, etc.) each refers to a family of alcohol, such as rum, cognac, and other liqueurs or spirits.

The Quality and Hygiene Factor Capsule

The cork is a natural but a porous product that can very easily be contaminated by external agents and thus alter the quality and integrity of the wine. The exposed cap also allows odoriferous molecules, such as oil paint, gasoline, acetone, etc. to pass through. Leave the cap unprotected in the open air and it will be contaminated by fungus and external dust. The capsule, therefore, is an additional guarantee of the quality preservation of the wine.

But then why has the 21st century stripped the bottle?

Dave McIntyre from the Washington Post wrote “Are we seeing the end of the wine capsule? The capsule, also called the foil, is one of those anachronisms of wine, a relic of centuries-old tradition that hangs on because wine lovers like to think of themselves as part of a centuries-old tradition. But today we are seeing more and more wines bottled without them.” On the other hand, the leading groups producing foil (the manufacturers of caps and capping machines) throw a spanner in the works by declaring that "a scientific study demonstrates the protective role of foil and capsule on wine and sparkling bottles" by constituting "an effective hygienic shield against the transmission of bacteria and molds." And so, they fight for the survival of the capsule.

The approach is definitely political, and therefore controversial. It was in 1919 that France launched the first shot by removing the CRD from the capsule, and as a result even the winemakers decided not to use any at all, which saved an average of $5 to $7 dollars per case. But this was not marketed as their explanation, they instead declared the environmental impact as their hobbyhorse. How can we oppose such proof of ecological and social awareness? However, even if I approve of this eco-responsible maneuver, I don't believe that this is the real reason. Because if this were the case, all wine producers would follow those in Australia and no longer use any corks at all, and instead use only the Stelvin (read Vol. 13 "Supreme Cork Ruling: TCA v. Stelvin"). In addition, today there are vegetal polymer capsules that are 100% biodegradable.

The real issue is in fact an open war on sales and market competition. All the studies over the last twenty years show that the consumer is willing to pay about 20% more for a corked bottle than for a bottle equipped with an aluminum screwcap. A traditional foil at first glance looks like a screwcap, and so therefore the solution to compete with this difference has been to strip the bottle bare by revealing the (not very sexy nor attractive) cork. For those who still believe in the importance of hygiene, they have developed a subterfuge by adding either a polymeric wax capsule on top of the cork, or by covering it with liquid wax only on the top of the neck so that the lower half of the cork is still visible and thus can prove its existence for commercial and marketing purposes. Unfortunately, few winemakers have the ethics to make the wise move or either covering the top of the cork very lightly with a natural beeswax, or to choosing Stelvin so as to be entirely ecological. Be aware that 90% of the corks on the market are made of synthetic composition or agglomerates of glued cork dust, so don't let yourself be fooled by this little strategic game. Naked or clothed, remember that the container is not so important, because it is the content that you will consume.

So, there you have it, I officially declare not just "Fuck the Label" but "Fuck the label and fuck the naked cork".