Patent ID: 7770747

Claim:
A stopper or closure for a wine retaining bottle constructed for being inserted and securely retained in a portal forming neck of the wine container, said stopper/closure comprising: A. an elongated, cylindrically shaped core member a. formed from extruded foamed plastic material comprising medium density or low density, closed cell, foamed plastic comprising one or more selected from the group consisting of inert polymers, homopolymers, and copolymers, b. comprising substantially flat terminating surfaces forming the opposed ends of said cylindrically shaped core member; and c. comprising a diameter ranging between about 19 mm and 21.8 mm; B. a first layer or skin member a. peripherally surrounding and intimately bonded to the cylindrical surface of the core member by extrusion, b. comprising a density ranging between about 300 kg/m 3 and 1,500 kg/m 3 ; and c. comprising a thickness ranging between about 0.05 mm and 1 mm; and C. a second layer or skin member a. peripherally surrounding and intimately bonded to the cylindrical surface of the first layer/skin member by extrusion, b. comprising a density ranging between about 300 kg/m 3 and 1,500 kg/m 3 ; c. comprising a thickness ranging between about 0.002 mm and 1 mm; and d. comprising a plurality of holes or dimples formed thereon in cooperating spaced relationship to each other for effectively reducing the surface area of said second layer/skin member which is in direct contact with the neck of the wine bottle, thereby enabling said closure/stopper to be easily removed from the wine bottle; whereby a multi-layer/multi-component synthetic closure is attained which is capable of completely sealing wine bottles, retaining the wine in the bottle for any desired length of time without any degradation of the wine or degradation of the closure.