It is a sound associated with celebration around the world, but the pop of a traditional champagne cork could soon be replaced by the click of a metal cap if one leading producer’s experiment takes off.

Duval-Leroy, one of the larger Champagne houses which produced more than 6 million of the 320 million bottles of Champagne made last year, will start selling bottles with aluminium tops later this year.

This will be the first time cork has not been used to secure bottles of the famous sparkling wine in its 350-year history.

Metal screw tops have taken off in still wines, with an estimated 15 per cent of all wine in the world now using this method to stop so-called ‘cork taint’ – when a wine is ruined by an ill-fitting cork either rotting, or allowing in too much oxygen.

The industry estimates that as much as one in ten bottles is damaged from cork taint.

Until now it has been thought impossible to develop a metal top that would be strong enough to withstand the pressure that builds up inside a Champagne bottle.

However, Canadian company Alcan Packaging has come up with a design it describes as “revolutionary”, but has refused to divulge more details until it is officially launched next month.

Full article at Telegraph.co.uk – Photo credit: philwoodphoto