The introduction of aluminium screw caps for closing wine bottles in the late 1960s was revolutionary and instantly offered wine consumers the convenience to open and reseal their wine alongside reducing wine faults related to premature oxidation and cork taint.

Wine experts and connoisseurs know that the choice of the bottle closure and the sealing liner of screw caps are imperative for the quality of the wine, influencing both its oxidative and reductive ageing characters.

To protect the wine and preserve its fruity varietal aromas, the ideal screw cap must be equipped with a sealing liner able to offer highest oxygen barrier performance. However, the choice of such a low Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR) liner can lead to the formation of volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) associated with reductive taints, known as “post-bottling reduction flavour”.

ALKOvin™ active is the innovative PVC/PVDC-free sealing liner, which manages post-bottling reductive notes, while offering excellent oxygen barrier performance! With its unique acceptor layer, the ALKOvin™ active liner binds and deactivates the volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) responsible for undesirable odours, thus preserving the wine’s precious aroma.

“Managing to deliver optimal aroma & taste to the consumer of wine closed with a screw cap was the goal of this development”, says Dr. Rainer Kroeger, R&D Director at Meyer Seals® – the world’s leading manufacturer of wine screw cap liners based in Alfeld (Leine), Germany.

The ALKOvin™ active liner has been tested by the renowned AWRI “Australian Wine Research Institute”, and all tests conducted so far (over 36 months now) confirm that ALKOvin™ active liner can reduce or prevent the formation of volatile sulphur compounds, while offering an excellent oxygen barrier performance (OTR ≈ 0.0 mg O2/year) similar to the traditional tin-Saran liner. Furthermore, the innovative liner does not have any effect on varietal thiol compounds, which means it does not scavenge desirable thiol compounds from wine during bottle ageing, and does not have any impact on free and total sulphur dioxide concentrations.

According to Nishan Goenka, Global Sales & Marketing Director at Meyer Seals®: “After having worked on this project for almost nine years including several trials & tests with wine research institutes & wineries, there is a clear evidence from the industry to prove and support the view that ALKOvin™ active is the long-awaited, next generation sealing liner, destined to consolidate its place under a screw cap. This is the best insurance for your wine under a screw cap!”

The essential performance of ALKOvin™ active has been confirmed by leading wine makers in Germany:

“I have been using ALKOvin™ active liners for more than two years now and I am very pleased and excited about the result. I hand-harvest my grapes and produce quality wines; preserving the taste and precious wine aroma is of utmost importance to me. With ALKOvin™ active liner’s security, I do not have to worry anymore about reductive notes and flavours after bottling; I feel assured that my wine will arrive to the consumer with optimal aroma and taste.”  
Harald Hexamer, Hexamer Winery, Germany

“Before we used the ALKOvin™ active liner, we struggled with reductive off-flavours year after year in wines sealed with tin-lined screw caps. After six to nine months in the bottle, the original fruity flavour disappeared, and the wines were very closed, inexpressive, and deteriorated from then on. As a result, we were looking for a solution to this problem. The ALKOvin™ active sealing liner was used for the first time in 2019 when bottling our basic tier wines. Working with this liner was exceptionally smooth. We only had positive feedback regarding the tightness and the outlier rate – the liner was completely within the tolerance range. Furthermore, the SO2 content was extremely stable after 9 months. In terms of aroma and fruit preservation of our wines, we experienced a significant increase in quality in comparison to previous years. This was confirmed by comparative blind tastings among colleagues against the conventional tin liner. The ALKOvin™ active variants were consistently perceived by all tasters as cleaner by smell, fruitier and crispier, with significantly more structure on the palate. Switching to the ALKOvin™ active sealing liner was a pioneering move and the right decision for us for the future.”
Nico Caspari and Uwe Jostock, Caspari-Kappel Winery, Germany

Click here to learn more about ALKOvin™ active

For further information, please contact:

Vasileios Sakalis
International Key Account Manager at Meyer Seals®
Mobile:   + 49 (0)176 12 801 832
Email:     sakalis@meyer-seals.com 

Meyer Seals®:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meyer-seals

Website: www.meyer-seals.com