THE CASE FOR NO CAPSULE:

Have you ever wondered why wine bottles have foil capsules covering the corks? Historically speaking, it protected the corks from being gnawed to bits by rodents and insects in the cellar where a wine was stored all year. When wine and other alcoholic beverages were stored underground in cellar conditions that were not air-tight, or inside a building, this was a very important function. Now adays, its sole purpose is to add to the aesthetics of the packaging.

When Kate Tillie was first looking at packaging for the wines here, she realized that the foils get shipped from all over the world and are rarely available locally. They are made from all different materials, some metal, and some plastic. But they serve no functional purpose, and ultimately are discarded straight to a landfill. It is a core value of Tillie Wines to support local farms, interact with our local community, and be aware of our carbon footprint. After looking into the added shipping required to source capsules, and the added output of a non-recycled product, it was an easy choice to keep our bottles naked.

Does it look unfinished? Perhaps. But we strive to be good stewards of the world and our environment. Want to discuss the idea more? Come join Kate in a lively discussion at the tasting room.