Capsules have traditionally been used in conjunction with protecting the cork from the outside world and all of its elements, such as rodents and bugs which have been known to chew away at cork. Because aging wine has come a long way from storing bottles in a cave laid end-over-end in a musty cellar, capsules today are mainly used to decorate bottles and give a beautiful end piece to your package.
There are different degrees of waxing, from a neat and simple dot on the top of the cork to covering the neck halfway. On our bottles, the wax covers 3/4ths of the length of the cork.
At Bird of Night Wines, we have elected to use wax as a method of closing and securing the cork. Wax is an elaborate effort to essentially do the same thing as a capsule, but we believe the extra effort is what makes Bird of Night bottles stand out from the rest. The wax also provides a more elegant look, which we hope stands out on your dinner table.
You may be asking yourself, “How do I open a bottle of wine that uses wax tops?” Easy–just push the worm of a corkscrew through the wax and turn it into the cork, just as you would when opening a bottle without wax. Then, using the levers of the opener to pull out the cork, cleanly break through the top of the wax seal. You are now ready to pour and enjoy our wine. Cheers!