Agraffe

gabbietta (I)

agrafe (F)

broche (ES)

agrafe (GB)

Term for the small wire mesh (bottling hoop, wire basket, shipping hoop, French muselet) with which the cork of sparkling wines is wrapped and fixed to the neck of the bottle. This successfully prevents the cork from being catapulted out of the bottle neck due to the relatively high excess carbon dioxide pressure in the bottle. The metal capsule (helmet, plaque) on the head of the natural cork prevents the wire mesh from cutting into the cork (this is not necessary with plastic corks). The agraffes are applied mechanically in combination with the corking. The collection of these objects is known as placomusophilia.

Agraffe - zwei Korken mit Agraffe

However, an agraffe is not permitted for semi-sparkling wine so that it can be distinguished externally and cannot be confused with a quality sparkling wine. According to EU regulations, it was mandatory to apply a protective film over the cork, capsule, agraffe and bottle neck on sparkling wine bottles. This has no longer been necessary since December 2023. Bottle nets, such as those used for Rioja in Spain (Alambrado, Spanish for wire net), have no practical purpose. See also under MAESTRO (sparkling wine bottle) and closures.

Image left: from tocc on Pixabay
Image on the right: by Matthias Böckel on Pixabay

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