PVC-Free DARAFORM® has Touched Every Champagne Bottle in the World
The use of PVC-free closure sealants during the champagne maturation process began more than 20 years ago, with DAREX®.
PVC-free closure sealants replace cork sealants for less organoleptic variability and constant gas exchange. This avoids the irregular exchange that can occur with the cork.
During champagne maturation, DARAFORM® PVC-free crown liners are applied to the temporary seal.
DAREX® plays a key role in champagne maturation
After crown capping, champagne bottles embark on a long period of maturation on lees—residual sediment that settles in the wine bottle during maturation. Bottles are stored at a downward angle in a cellar kept at a constant temperature of 12°C (54°F).
The crowns are then removed during the disgorgement phase. This is a critical point in the life of champagne, that takes anywhere from many months to years of peaceful maturation on lees.
The purpose of disgorgement is to eliminate the deposit that has collected in the neck of the bottle, while maturing. During disgorgement, the bottleneck is plunged into a refrigerating solution at -27°C (-16°F). The sediment (in the form of a frozen plug) ejects under pressure when the bottle is opened, with minimum loss of wine and pressure.
Finally, the cork is forced into the neck of the bottle, covered with a protective metal capsule, then held in place with a ‘muselet,' or wire cage, to form an airtight seal.
From there, the champagne is ready to usher in a new year, celebrate a wedding or other momentus occasion, or christen a ship ready to launch into the mighty ocean. All of this was possible thanks, in part, to DAREX®'s PVC-free closure sealant DARAFORM®.