What purpose does wine foil serve?

Question

I removed the foil on a bottle of red wine recently, based on a cryptic message on the side. Now the cork is exposed, and I'm wondering if the foil helps preserve the wine, and if I should make sure to drink the wine soon.

Answer 1

i would say its more of an anti-tamper thing more than a preservation thing.

wine corks allow the wine to breath... if you say, sealed the cork then with a tight piece of plastic, it would defeat the purpose of the cork and you could just as well use a s***w-cap (which they do on the really cheap wines).  I would assume the foil or the clothlike coverings that are over/around the corks these days are used to show that the bottle hasn't been tampered with.

Answer 2

The foil, as a previous poster mentioned, is in some ways a tamper proof seal, but it is also a barrier to moisture or any changes in temperature. The wine in order to age properly does need to breath somewhat, but at the same time exposing the cork to high humidity can cause the cork to support some mold growth and low humidity will cause the cork to dry out and crack. This could cause the cork to disintegrate when you try to open it. The good news is that this will take a very long time provided you are properly storing you wine. The mold issue should be of especially little concern considering the mold would have to travel all the way down your cork and then be able to survive in a highly acidic, low oxygen environment. This is practically impossible, so unless you are planning on alternating your wine between the desert and a Wisconsin summer for the next couple years you should be okay.