Tony Auston
Designer, Auston Design, Emeryville (California)
While tin capsules may not always be cost effective for lower priced wines, my first preference for higher-end wines, with greater margins, is always pure tin.
There are no production line efficient alternatives to Tin Capsules when you want to convey an elegant, high-end brand image for your wine. The only other viable solutions would be wax, or, no capsule at all with a wax or metal button on top; all of which require hand labor to apply.
The ritual of opening a bottle of wine with a Tin Capsule helps reinforce the expectation of a high-quality product within.