Penfolds have revealed that they are undertaking trials of glass stoppers for their flagship wine 'Grange'. Although of the opinion that cork "cannot be beaten" except for the tricky problem of cork taint, it had originally been thought Penfolds would opt for screwcap. Certainly whilst they have bottled a proportion of their wine for many years under screwcap, it is clear that they have come to the conclusion that this closure is not ideal for the proper ageing of the wine particularly for export (from the days when we were the UK importers, wine that does not leave the Grange cellars was considered to show no significant difference whether closed with cork or screwcap!)
This glass stopper is not the vini-lok (pictured) but one of their own design which is made without a silicone seal but entirely of glass - complete with a microscopic weave to mimic the cork's ability to allow the ingress of tiny amounts of oxygen over a long period. As glass is inert this is the holy grail for wine stoppers...It remains to be seen whether Penfolds' new owners, Fosters, a brewery, will further finance this development!
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