R V N S Vol 4: Waxing Poetic

At Perliss Estate, we have been wax-dipping our bottles since our first vintage. All our wines are dipped or topped in beeswax, and there is something indeed poetic about accessing the cork through this natural, fragrant barrier.

Before the relatively modern marriage of glass and cork, the ancient world paired terracotta and beeswax to preserve and transport wine. From Egypt, Greece & Rome, to Georgia & Armenia, terracotta vessels were sealed with beeswax (usually mixed with resin or pitch) to prevent evaporation and oxidation. Wax has also lined clay vessels’ interiors to mitigate porosity.
Additionally, wax closures, often tinted red, provided a seal of authenticity and proof of the wine’s integrity—an unbroken seal attesting to tamper-free contents.

With technological advances in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mass-produced glass bottles resilient enough to withstand the trials of transport became the preferred container. 
Upon the implementation of bottles, capsules or wax seals were to used to protect corks from detrimental elements encountered in caves—mold and rodents.

Some of the reason we chose wax was aesthetic, but also for superior preservation, which is why most large formats, celebrated for their aging potential, are wax-dipped. Studies show that wax “overcapping” allows less air to permeate the cork, and thus, oxidation, than a tin capsule. In addition to its quality as a sealant, beeswax has antimicrobial properties.

Accessing corks through wax is actually easier than with a capsule—the corkscrew piercing straight through the seal, no need to remove the wax, no tin to cut. 

I first noticed a beeswax dip on a Royal Tokai bottle, which struck me as both natural and elegant, especially as it had developed an attractive frosty patina. We started using natural beeswax with the 2014 debut vintage of The Serpents, and now for all the wines.

Wax is provided by the Sonoma County Bee Company, a sole-woman industry owned by Candice Koseba. I had first discovered her pungently honey-scented, pure beeswax candles and inquired whether she could supply the winery, which she has been doing for some years. Now, when running low on stock, I contact Candice, who “breaks down some hives” and delivers fresh blocks of golden wax.

Each bottle is hand-dipped, which seems an appropriate final touch for wines that have been made with care and attention at every step—from farming, to harvesting, through fermentation, and aging, the wines are truly handmade.

The team at Sherwin Wine Services, who also handles our storage and fulfillment, melts the wax in small cauldrons. Depending on the wine, some bottles receive a simple wax disc covering the cork; others, the disc then a full dip. The Serpents gets an even, level dip, while The Heron and Corvus Pacificum get more expressive curved waves. (Corvus Pacificum also gets a roll in Maldon’s salt, a nod to the sea.)

Next time you’re about to pull one of our corks, before enjoying the bottle’s contents, take a moment to smell the sweet wax seal—another reason to feel grateful for those powerful little pollinators, the honeybees.