Wino's World: Uncorking The Truth Behind Synthetic Corks, Screw Off Caps

By Alice Shane

If you’ve been having problems uncorking bottles of wine, it’s because, increasingly, vineyards are using synthetic (plastic) corks instead of the natural product. Plastic corks are notoriously difficult to extract from bottles, which is why I prefer the real thing.

Wineries are jumping on the synthetic cork band wagon because they want to avoid “corked” wine, whereby cork can become moldy and/or crumbly, supposedly affecting the taste and smell of the wine. But wine experts say the mold is caused by seepage which is no big deal.

Either way, my preference is for real cork because I hate struggling with plastic. There’s another minus associated with synthetic corks: no one knows how they effect wine over the long term – something I don’t give a hoot about because the wine around here doesn’t last long!

SCREW OFF CAPS STINK!

If you’ve been assaulted by the stench of rotten eggs upon opening a bottle of wine with a screw off cap, you’ve got lots of company – particularly if you drink New Zealand or Australian wines.

Industry mavens say screw off caps eliminate “cork taint” which supposedly attacks 5% to 10% of all wines. Yet, wine analysts at the International Wine Challenge this year reported that 2.2% of screw cap closed bottles emitted foul odors due to sulphidisation, resulting in smells reminiscent of sulfur, burning rubber or burnt matches.

Industry stats reveal that 1 in 50 screw capped wines are afflicted with this odiferous chemical reaction. However, these aberrations haven’t stopped the well-known Australian winery, Wolf Blass, from screw capping all of its wines by the end of 2007.

Remember: Hold your nose if you happen to buy a bottle of screw capped wine!!


© 2007, Alice Shane/Alice Shane Communications. All rights reserved.