HOW DOES AIR GETS INTO WINE BOTTLES WITH CORK CLOSURE?

We often wonder how does air actually gets into the wine bottle which is closed with cork closure, and on top of that covered with a capsule.

The answer is very simple actually.

CAPSULE/FOIL

The Capsules or Foils covering over the cork are actually NOT air tight seal.

The capsules or foils are simply decorative coverings.

So they do not prevent air from travelling in.

CORK

How about the Cork then, does it not prevent air from getting in?

Corks are porous with small microscopic openings in them, not visible to our eyes.

So air CANNOT be prevented from going in and out through the very tiny porous channels.

But what we can do is control the rate of this happening to minimum. So only tiny amounts of air is getting in to the wine and out, which would help maintain the freshness of the wine.

This can be achieved by laying down the bottle on the side, so the wine is touching the cork and filling up the porous holes with the wine. This is called "Cork Absorption".

This helps to only allow very minimum oxygen to get into wine over a long period of time. This is important for the wine to develop the flavors of aged wine, without getting over-oxygenation which can lead to spoillage.

It is especially very important for wines that you are going to keep for more than 6 months or years for drinking sometime in the future.

Laying down these bottles on their sides will help to protect from over excessive oxygen. Laying them down on their side will allow for the right amount of air interaction so they will age gracefully.

What happens if the wine sealed with cork is not layed on it side for storage, but kept upright?

Then the cork's porous channels would be empty and air will freely flow in and out resulting in over-oxygenation in a very short period of of time.

This will result in the wine becoming stale and lacking of fruits, and in some cases show oxidative aromas that are not pleasant.

So therefore wine bottles with cork closures must always be stored laying down on their sides.

Then what about those wine bottles sealed with screw-cap closure?

Screw cap closures are airtight closures so therefore air cannot get into the wine once the bottles are closed with the screw caps.

Therefore, these wine bottles can be stored either standing upright or laying down, whichever is convenient to you. It will not make a difference.

Leave a comment below if you have further queries.