The opinions expressed in these blogs are solely those of the people who wrote them, and do not represent the views of WPSU or Penn State University.

Food and Wine

Pop the Cork – or Snap the Cap!

Posted by Bruce Pincus on 07/15 at 08:08 AM

We all know the scene: that special bottle of wine comes out of the cellar for everyone to see.  The bottle is presented and the label is scrutinized.  The smiles appear on all the faces confirming the expectation is that it will be a delicious wine.  Anticipation of opening the bottle mounts and then you hear that all familiar sound … SNAP!  The screw cap has been twisted and the wine is ready to be poured.

Hey – wait a minute!  Hold on there! Where’s the “pop” of the cork?  You mean this is a screw cap wine?  C’mon, it can’t be any good – it’s a screw cap. 

… Au contraire!

Technically speaking, the Stelvin-type closure, commonly known as the screw cap, is the best performing closure for wine.  It may not have the romance of the cork nor add to the opening ceremony and presentation of the bottle, but it is simply the better performer – eliminating the problems that are normally associated with cork – the most common being TCA, or cork taint. 

There have been numerous studies conducted over the years, which proves the point. And at the center of almost every discussion are the issues of perception, ceremony, and the outright consternation of paying $50, $75, $100 or more for a bottle wine and having it come with a screw cap.  Yet there is no valid challenge to the data indicating that a screw cap provides the better closure.

Indeed, recently published in Wine Spectator was a result of a 10-year study conducted by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI).  14 different closures were used on thousands of bottles of the same wine – 1999 Clare Semillon - including various corks, synthetic corks and screw caps.  The screw cap turned out to be the most reliable and superior closure, resulting in a classic aged Semillon that was “wonderful to drink.” Those bottles with natural and synthetic corks had huge variations in degrees of oxidation affecting their color and freshness, and that’s excluding those corks that simply failed.

Today, use of the screw cap is catching on among some of the world’s highly regarded wineries.  Annually, more than 15 million bottles of quality wines from Switzerland come with screw caps.  Well-respected producers from New Zealand and Australia are using more screw caps. They’re even being used in France! In the United States, Bonny Doon has stopped using cork altogether.  Plumpjack winery started bottling 50 percent of their reserve wines in screw caps in 1997, and ten years later, in 2007, compared them side-by-side with those sealed in cork.  The result: most of the invited wine writers could not tell the difference. 

Surprised?  Don’t be.  Think about it: 

• A screw cap can almost entirely eliminate TCA and sporadic oxidation. It is a perfect hermetic seal. That’s a good reason in and of itself for every winery to use screw caps; after all, isn’t it the wine inside that we want to enjoy – not the cork?
• A screw cap avoids any chance of flavor modification (which can happen when using a natural cork,) allowing the wine to retain its original characteristics and age uniformly.  We all know the saying: good grapes make good wines.  Well, if the wine is well made, it will stay that way and improve.  If the wine is poorly crafted, it will stay that way, too – and there will be no excuse that the cork was a culprit.  The winemaker will have to do a better job.
• Contrary to urban belief, both red and white wines can age under screw cap. Today’s technology produces a screw cap liner using expanded polyethylene and food grade polymer (in contact with the wine), which maintains pressure and ensures an airtight seal.
• Better and easier storage. Bottles with screw caps can be conveniently stored upright, horizontally or even upside down since there’s no cork to keep wet – and that reduces the need for humidity in cellaring.
• And if you don’t finish the whole bottle after it you’ve opened it – don’t worry.  Bottles with screw caps can be easily resealed because they provide an airtight seal and closure around the outside of the neck, thus eliminating the more likely scenario of oxidation because of air seepage due to imperfections inside the bottle neck or with the cork.
• Finally, they’re green – screw caps can be recycled.

Screw caps are here to stay and their adoption in the wine marketplace continues to increase every year.  While I still like tradition – and the pop of the cork – the evidence has taught me to move beyond the old stereotype for the screw cap that it is only for inferior and less expensive skid-road wines.

So the next time you visit your local Wine & Spirits store, take a good look at the higher-end specialty and luxury wines and you’ll see more and more of them with screw caps.  You may even find that your favorite producer is starting to use them.

Remember, it’s the wine inside we want.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity of enjoying a wonderful wine just because it has a screw cap closure.

Go ahead – SNAP the cap!

Cheers!

References:
http://www.screwcapinitiative.com/normal.asp?navID=24&pageID=24
http://wine.about.com/od/storingwines/a/Screwcaps.htm

Join us on Sunday, September 19, 2010 for the Second Annual WPSU Wine celebration. This tasting will feature a variety of wines from the world’s greatest vineyards, and a selection of unique and premium wines, wine accessories and art will be offered in both live and silent auctions throughout the afternoon.