max@ucbcad.UUCP (03/20/84)
Re: leaded capsules on wine bottles
I find hstrop's response surprising, since often enough some wine
residue will attack the leaded foil, yielding soluble crystals
(acetates and tartrates, presumably). These can then combine with
the wine when it is poured, unless the crystals are cleaned off first.
Older wines routinely show some seepage around the cork and whitish
crystals where some of the capsule metal has dissolved. No longer
is the lead merely "elemental".
This all sounds familiar -- didn't it come up six months ago in this
newsgroup?
Max Hauser, University of California, Berkeley
{...ucbvax}!ucbcad.max (usenet)
max@ucbcad.ARPA (arpanet)hcr@hcr.UUCP (HCR Clerical) (03/28/84)
[] Please forgive me if I am re-hashing an old question (I don't know if it has been discussed or not). Anyway... Why is lead foil used as a sealant for wine bottles (and liquer bottles too)? This seems kind of hazerdous to me in light of the dangers of lead poisoning (from old house paints for example). Paul Bonneau hcr!hcrvax!paulb
hstrop@mhuxt.UUCP (trop) (03/29/84)
Regarding lead seals on wine bottles: Generally elemental lead when used as a seal will not cause a problem, especially since the cork should keep the liquid away from the metal. Lead use goes back a long time. It's use was to show that the bottle had not been tampered with after bottling. Lead is inexpensive and quite mallable, an ideal seal material in ancient times. Interestingly, the Romans used to produce wine in lead vessels and would often end up with a sweeter wine due to the formation of lead acetate. I say sweeter because this lead salt tastes sweet. (Probably the world's first artificial sweetener). This is also why lead based paints are such a problem. Besides their natural toxicity, children actually like eating lead based paint. With proper storage and handling, lead seals should not cause a problem because the lead stays in an elemental form and is not readily assimulated into your body. Next week: leaded glass and leaded gas, Harvey S. Trop mhuxt!hstrop
rcd@opus.UUCP (03/31/84)
<>
One of the older reasons for using lead foils was that it protected the
bottles against rats in the cellars where wines were stored. Even if a few
rats managed to chew the foils on a few bottles (and die), rats are pretty
smart and manage to learn from their compatriots. Hopefully rats aren't
that much of a problem these days!
--
Relax - don't worry - have a homebrew.
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd