My wife and I were in France about to enjoy a relaxing, romantic dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant. A good bottle of wine would be part of this perfect evening and after reviewing the extensive wine list, I asked to speak with the sommelier. We selected a wonderful bottle of white Burgundy to begin our evening and it soon arrived and was dutifully presented by our sommelier. But wait, OMG, it has a screw cap!
Times change, science advances and after a few decades of testing, debating and testing again, the question of corks vs. screw caps continues.
Thirty or even twenty years ago, the thought was that primarily white wines, meant to be drunk young, might be more readily accepted with a screwcap, especially the ‘cheaper ones’. After all, most weren’t meant to be aged in a cellar.
Much thinking at the time suggested that to successfully age a fine red wine certainly required natural cork, which over time, allows in some oxygen that is necessary for wine development. Aluminum caps with their plastic inserts would block oxygen and what about possible leaching effects from the plastic or aluminum? And for expensive wines, would the consumer ever accept an artificial cork or closure of any kind?
Well, fast forward. While it seems like New Zealand and Australia have been on the screw cap bandwagon forever, today an increasing number of respected wineries and chateaus are using screw caps on at least some of their production. Is it science, economics or marketing driving this change?
Science has developed aluminum caps that can now allow for some oxygen to enter the bottle to age those worthy wines, red and white. From a cost standpoint, cork, while a renewable resource, is much more expensive than screwcaps and cork is subject to ‘cork taint’ that can ruin 1-2% of wine bottled at even the best producers. Consumers are getting used to seeing more wine with screw caps. The automatic shock and dismissal is declining.
But what of tradition? What of the wine experience of opening a great bottle of wine, slowing removing a natural cork, hearing the gentle pop and examining it, all before taking that first sip?
Next time I’ll be sure to ask the sommelier whether my selected bottle has a natural cork.
Cheers!
-Submitted by Jim Wolitarsky
(Image credits: Pixabay.com and Vinepair.com)