This has been a topic of debate ever since the first screw cap on a wine bottle. What is all the fuss about? Does using a screw cap mean that a wine bottle is less valuable? Today we look into these questions and answer them all for you.
Old Tradition
The most common method of sealing a bottle of wine has been with a cork. The cork is an excellent choice because it is produced naturally, and it is also a renewable resource. Since the cork tree has unique properties that allows the harvesting of its back without harming the trees, they will continue to produce more cork after every harvest. This tradition dates back over 500 years, so you can be sure that many people in history used this method for sealing wine bottles.
In addition to its long history and tradition, using corks for sealing bottles of wine also brings its own romantic appeal. Many people believe that this traditional way is better than screw caps or other ways of sealing the bottle because it adds to the enjoyment of opening up the wine bottle and experiencing all aspects of it from start to finish. These qualities have made corks become synonymous with quality wine bottles and helped them maintain their popularity throughout time.
New Technology
In addition to being a romantic symbol of wine, the cork is also an ingenious way to seal the bottle. Cork is elastic and porous, so it can expand within the neck of the bottle and keep air out while still allowing a small amount of oxygen in (which helps wine age).
Corks aren’t perfect, though—they can give off unpleasant smells or let too much oxygen into the wine, causing it to turn bad prematurely. In response to these issues, many winemakers have started using screw caps for bottles that don’t require aging.
Screw caps were first used on wine bottles in Australia in the 1960s. Screw caps are plastic with a tin lining. They are a more modern and hygienic closure because they don’t allow air into the bottle at all. Screw caps are also easy to open—no corkscrew required!
Less Waste
Corks are actually the bark of a cork oak tree, which only grows in warm climates; thus, wine producers have to import them from places like Portugal and Spain. When they do arrive, only about 75 percent of corks can be used as intended. The rest are thrown away due to imperfections. Given that winemakers close over 6 billion wine bottles every year using cork stoppers, that’s a lot of waste.
Cork recycling is on the rise, but it’s still not enough to make up for the environmental impact caused by harvesting the trees. The main concern stems from when trees are harvested for their bark: once a tree is stripped of its bark (which can take around 100 years to grow back), workers cut slits into it so that new growth will produce more uniform strips. However, if these cuts aren’t deep enough, then the entire tree has to be cut down and left where it stands. That’s why some winemakers are choosing screw caps over corks—they’re much less wasteful!
Green Credentials
Though cork trees were traditionally harvested for their bark, it’s important to note that this was not destructive to the tree itself. A more appropriate comparison would be how a dog is groomed by having its fur clipped rather than shaved down to the skin. In fact, the harvesting of cork actually encourages new growth and has even been successful in rejuvenating forests where the trees had gone into decline. This means that not only is cork an environmentally friendly material to use as a wine stopper (unlike plastic), but it can also promote healthy growth in its local environment.
The argument for screw caps comes from their ability to be recycled at the end of their life cycle. However, this ignores one critical aspect—a screw cap cannot be used more than once whereas a cork can often have dozens of lifetimes before it needs to be recycled (or even repurposed). Once you’ve taken into account all factors involved with each closure option, it becomes clear that, unlike wine closures made from other materials, corks are not only renewable but offer superior green credentials when compared with plastic and metal alternatives.
Corked Wines
When it comes to corked wines, you will have to have a keen nose to sniff out the TCA that is ruining your wine. The problem with TCA is that it sits at the threshold of our noses; a very small amount allows us to detect its presence. It doesn’t take much for a wine to be ruined by cork taint.
One of the most important things about a good wine is that glass bottle and cork closure on top. Cork has been used for centuries. This is due to its abundance, ease of use, and ability to keep oxygen from spoiling the contents inside. But what if you’re allergic? It’s true, there are some people who are allergic. Some are sensitive enough to get headaches from drinking wines closed with corks. If you know someone who gets headaches after drinking wine, they may want to try screwcaps as an alternative! Luckily we stock plenty of screw-capped wines here at CELLAR254.
The Future of the Screwcap
The screw cap is becoming more and more popular in the wine industry. It will likely be the standard closure of the future. As you might imagine, this will take some time. There’s still a large supply of wine bottles with corks that you need to drink before we can all make the switch.
This is a long debate and without a clear answer – it’s up to your personal preference.
The debate on using screw caps or cork to close wine bottles is a long one. One without a clear answer. It boils down to personal preference and what you feel is the most appropriate closure. Many believe that the cork has been around too long, so we should be using it. Others feel that screw caps are cheaper, more consistent, and better for wine preservation.
There are many articles out there that discuss the pros and cons of each closure. I have read them all and they don’t seem to dispute anything. So in my opinion, it comes down to trying both closures with the same wine from different producers. If you can find two bottles with identical vintages from different producers, buy one bottle of each closure type. Once you open them on separate occasions you’ll know which works best for you! Tell us which type of closure you opt for the next time you go wine shopping.
