Corks have a lot of ritual and history behind them. But all of this romance and tradition aside, serious questions are now being asked about whether or not corks are in fact the best way to protect bottled wine from the outside environment. Some wine drinkers can detect even just a few parts per trillion of this flavour and for them, it spoils the wine. Wineries can also encounter problems with batches of defective corks, and entire vintages can be ruined. In our view, there are both advantages and disadvantages in the use of corks.
Corks are expensive, and there's a risk of cork taint or failure.
Any other closure is safer and cheaper than a poor cork. On the other hand, a good cork will always have a certain cachet and will do a better job than other closures because of superior sealing capability and an inherent ability to keep out oxygen. In other words, when cork is good, it's very good, but when it's bad, it's awful. Some U.S. producers who have used screwtops on better quality wines have had favorable responses from their customers. The next article looks at wine bottle capsules.