Australian Winemaker Trials Revolutionary Glass Stopper

Penfolds is trialling a revolutionary glass stopper system - on the 2006 Grange. Peter Gago, chief winemaker at the iconic Australian producer, said at Vinexpo this week the trials are in their very early stages, but might bear fruit in "two to three years." "A few cases of the 2006 Grange are closed with glass to glass stoppers. They will be very different," Gago said, to the Vino-Lok glass seals used by German producers such as Schloss Vollrads, which have a silicon ring between stopper and bottle top. The glass is sintered, made with a microscopic weave that will allow ingress of oxygen. Gago hopes this will mimic the porous nature of traditional cork. That oxygen exchange, he maintains, is essential for the aging of fine wine.