Adam - As you know there are some waxes that make it easier to cleanly pull out the cork in one go… I’ve had real good luck and relatively easy pull out of Liquid Farm’s wax seals(CalWax). I think there is a little technique needed to set that up. If I remember right you have the cork inserted slightly below the bottle rim. That gives a small plug of wax directly over the cork. For some reason, if I recall correctly, that makes for a clean pull. With all wax bottles I usually pull part way and wipe around rim and then pull the cork out. One thing I like about this is that you don’t fuss with taking off the foil capsule. At the other end of the spectrum are my Dunn Howell Mtn cabs that are 10-20 years old. Those seem to be a bakelite type of wax. Most royal pain in in the ass to pull out cleanly with lots of counter cleanup to get the wax shards.
A lot of the folks who don’t like wax think you have to chip it off. The reality is just insert a corkscrew in the center, pull up and the wax will break near the cork seam allowing you to lift the cork out.
Saxum, Nicora, Jaffurs Upslope, Bedrock magnums to name a few all use wax. I have never passed on a bottle because of a wax top, in fact I think they convey an image of quality.
I find it depends on the wax. With a pliable wax and young corks, just ignore it. Over time, some wax gets less pliable and the corks less sturdy so you can end up with corks breaking especially if the wax is thicker.
And then there is the lovely shellac type wax on Puffeney and Raveneau.
-Al
Would like to know how this works when you need a Durand to pull a 35 yr old bdx cork?
Adam have you tried Reed Wax? Great quality and they are pretty good with custom colors… Also in the US
Thanks for info guys. Samples have been sent from King’s Wax in Vancouver, so will see how they play out. He uses a higher temp wax, so not sure how that behaves when dried.
I insert the cork screw. Pull it up just enough to crack a reasonably round piece of wax off to expose the cork and then continue with a Durand or an Ah-So.
Decided to pop a waxed bottle tonight in honor of this thread. Even used an Ah-so.
Lol. Nice!! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
That cork is in amazing shape too!
Normally I find them weak/half soiled. Not sure they can break the wax. But yah. I find wax in general to be useless and I drink what’s in the bottle, not admire what’s covering it 
. I can see commercial appeal tho to the masses.
Contact Booker Winery for usable wax. Booker 2016 My Favorite Neighbor Red Wine. Centered the cork screw and pulled the wax clean.
If brown is an OK color, my ears might help. But that, too, can be a pain to remove.
Back to wax. Supplier can’t provide the foil in the dimensions I want. Also has a minimum of 2500 pieces per bottle size, so that adds up quick. Plastic caps not an option for these bottle sizes, plus it’s a 50000 minimum order.
Looks like I’ll be developing scoliosis and a “Jai-Alai” arm waxing… ![[swoon.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f425e8dac3e7344bee264da02e55428971be23a9.gif "swoon"){kind=small}
Based on this discussion the other night I opened a terrific 2015 Liquid Farm La Hermana chardonnay that had a wax cap. No tricks just put corkscrew in pull part way to pop the wax disc. Paper towel to wipe around cork and pull rest of the way out. I know they use CalWax on their bottles. No hassle as the LF wax caps are always easy pulls.
This thread has made me really curious about your wines. Any thought of a Berserker Day offering?
Thank you Martin. I’m actually considering bottling early and offering my first ever releases on BD, now that I’ve read up on it and got my footings here a little bit better. I was going to bottle in the new year and start selling in spring, but I think BD might be a perfect opportunity to get some interested people trying it. Should be 5 wines and a cracking deal.
Will any of the 5 wines not have wax on it to ruin it? ![[smileyvault-ban.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/426cc97ad8dd530c8304b0918ca75ff841d4d950.gif "[smileyvault-ban.gif]")
kidding! good luck on the relese!