Agraffe

gabbietta (I)

agrafe (F)

broche (ES)

agrafe (GB)

Term for the small wire netting (filling clip, wire basket, shipping clip, French muselet) with which the cork of sparkling wines is wrapped and fixed to the neck of the bottle. This is to prevent the cork from being catapulted out of the bottle neck by the relatively high excess carbonic acid pressure in the bottle. The metal capsule (helmet, plaque) lying at the head of the natural cork prevents the wire mesh from cutting into it (this is not necessary with plastic corks). The agraffes are applied by machine in combination with the corking. Collecting these objects is called placomusophilia. At semi-sparkling wine, however, an agraffe is not permitted so that it can be distinguished externally and cannot be confused with a quality sparkling wine. According to EU regulation, it was obligatory to apply a protective film over the cork, capsule, agraffe and bottle neck on sparkling wine bottles. This has no longer been required since December 2023.

Agraffe - zwei Korken mit Agraffe

No practical purpose is served by bottle nets, such as those used in Spain for Rioja (Alambrado, Spanish for wire net). See also under MAESTRO (special closure for sparkling wine bottles) and closures.

Picture left: by tocc on Pixabay
Picture right: by Matthias Böckel on Pixabay

Voices of our members

Using the encyclopaedia is not only time-saving, but also extremely convenient. What's more, the information is always up to date.
Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“

Welcome back!

Agraffe

Voices of our members

The world's largest Lexicon of wine terms.

EVENTS NEAR YOU