Wine Corks Getting Screwed?

Filed in archive Wine Making , Wine News , Wine Tasting , Wineries on May 7, 2006

Is the wine cork soon to be a thing of past? I've seen a number references lately to wine corks and how the screw cap is taking over. Some manufacturers claim the screw cap is better. For example, Twin Fin, whom I blogged about recently, claims that "going corkless [...] eliminate the threat of cork taint." They also say that screw caps are not less expensive for wineries when bottling.

I did a little surfing around, and according to About.com's Wine site: Screw caps provide the best seal for bottled wines, and eliminate the "corked" and oxidation problem in one fell swoop. Hogue Cellars completed a 30-month study comparing natural and synthetic cork closures with the Stelvin screw caps, their findings suggest significant benefits in utilizing screw caps over either natural or synthetic cork closures. While, screw caps do diminish the drama and romance of bottle opening it is well worth the sacrifice to ensure a taint-free wine that offers consistent aging, maintained flavor and freshness with optimum quality control.

Well, maybe then there is something to this and it isn't just some kind of media hype by wine makers. One issue I do have with screw caps, though, is the experience of uncorking that you just don't get with a screw cap. There's nothing like going to a nice dinner and having the wine presentation given by the server and hearing the "pop" of the cork.

I can't help but think that is something that will be missed...tainted wine or no tainted wine.