Australian closure supplier Zork has signed a deal with Tesco to bring its re-sealable top for sparkling wine to the UK market. The idea behind the closure is to make it easier to open sparkling wines and conserve their bubbles for longer.
Tesco is initially rolling out the cap for four of its sparkling wines but intends to increase it over time. Although current regulations only allow corks, the UK supermarket plans to eventually use the new closures on champagne and cava products.
A spokesperson for Tesco said the supermarket is in talks with the regulation bodies responsible for champagne and cava to open up the market to alternative closures.
Talking about the potential of the new top, Tesco said it is likely to be a big hit with women who want to side step the trauma that can accompany the act of opening a bottle of sparkling wine.
The new plastic closure, which Tesco said is 100% recyclable, has four separate components: a cap with a tamper proof band, a collett with a spring loading pin allowing it to lock onto a standard wine bottle, a foil which is a gas barrier keeping air out with gas in, and a seal which prevents leaking under extreme, high pressure conditions.