Thread: Cork, Screw or Plastic

Since my recycling bin is usually filled to the brim with empty wine bottles by collection day I feel at least slightly qualified to enter this discussion on wine bottle closures.

Ive thought long and hard about the cork versus screwtop ssue and have come to the conclusion that there are two ways to approach it:

1. from a purely sentimental and asthetic angle in which case cork is the best closure..nothing beats the satisfying "plop" that accompanies the withdrawal of a cork. Nothing compares with the challenge of retrieving the remaining half of a parted cork from the neck of a bottle.

2. from a more practical and economical point of view screw top or Stelvin seals as theyre known in the trade are superior to corks. One of the cons of using cork is the presence of a contaminant called 2,4,6 Trichloroanisole or ""TCA" which is frequently present in cork. Wine with even minute quantities of TCA present has an unforgetable wet hessian-like odour and the wine is reffered to as "corked". Most people would probably have never smelt a corked wine but most wineries can expect a surprisingly large percentage of their product produced under cork to end up corked. Its an irritating problem when you're talking about a sub $10 quaffer but when its a '98 Hill of Grace its a different story.

Cheers Martin

I did not vote because my preference is plastic for whites and cork for reds. No screwcaps thanks.

Reason, you normally donot smell the stopper on whites, only on reds .

Regards,

Theva

Originally Posted by Theva

I did not vote because my preference is plastic for whites and cork for reds. No screwcaps thanks.

Reason, you normally do not smell the stopper on whites, only on reds .

I dont quite understand the reasoning Theva or maybe Im not quite on your wavelength here. Are you talking about actually smelling the stopper or are you talking about the smell OF the stopper

A corked wine smells just as horrible whether its a red or a white wine....the TCA taints the wine as well as the cork.

TCA is such a pungent compound that quantities as small as 4 nanograms per litre (= "sweet FA") can be detected by the human olfactory system.

This poll should have probably best been started with a "pre-Poll" to establish who has actually smelt/tasted a corked wine...the experience is one you dont forget.

Martin

[QUOTE=silentC]I have to admit to being a bit old-fashioned in this regard.

[QUOTE]

Silent,

You've pretty well hit the nail on the head with your opening line. IMO The pro cork argument is to a large degree based on good old fashined resistance to change. Understandable since cork has been around for so long but I have yet to see a sound argument against Stelvin seals.

The bottom line is making wine is a business and if using Stelvin seals is going to reduce (significant) lost revenue due to corked wines with no degeradation in the quality of the product then it's the logical step for a wine producer to take.

Cheers Martin

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Most people would probably have never smelt a corked wine ...

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

This poll should have probably best been started with a "pre-Poll" to establish who has actually smelt/tasted a corked wine...the experience is one you dont forget.

If it was as big a problem as some say, then surely everybody who drinks wine regularly would have experienced it? My wife and I drink a bottle of red every night. I think we had a corked bottle once about 3 years ago.

The link I included above does have an argument against Stelvin seals, albeit a weak one. Has any thorough testing been done by a third party yet? I've seen some released by wineries that have already switched but naturally they would want the results to reflect that they made the right decision. It seems to be a hotly debated issue though. I expect we'll see more wineries going over to Stelvins, especially if the production costs are cheaper.

None of the wineries I buy from use screw caps, although I admit that might change. If it does, I'll have to consider then if I want to keep buying from them. Some of them do use plastic corks but they are a minority.

Are you 'in the trade' Martin?

Martin,

Smelling the stopper.

I do agree that the reds matured in corked bottles so smell a bit funny at times.

Regards,

Theva

I vote for screw caps, or Stelvins, as they're supposedly known. I was going to write a few pages on my thoughts, but, jeez, look at how much has already been written? I'd get the sack if I spent all day reading that.

I didn't vote in the poll. My preference would be to have no plastic "corks" at all. They can be very difficult to extract with a normal corkscrew. I don't have any real objection to Stelvins, however. So far the wines I've tasted from Stelvin-capped bottles have been pretty good. It'll be interesting to see - in a few years time - if they retard the aging process for good quality reds.

Logic says there may be some difference between a red aged under cork and the same red aged under Stelvin but, unless someone conducts a control sample type test, it's going to be very difficult to establish exactly what the difference is.

I'd be happy to offer my services as a taster!

Col

If we do away with the corks I lose my excuse for having so many bottles of wine.
Cork munching Termite

Originally Posted by silentC

Are you 'in the trade' Martin?

No...

Wine is a bit of a passion though..my consumption of same is probably well above the national average and I also have quite a few friends in the wine making game.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that my office mate out here on the oil rig Im currently working on is a winemaker back home in California. Hes a great source of inside info and usually turns up with a huge pile of Wine Estate magazines that get picked through with a fine tooth comb during the quieter monents out here.

The most interesting industry person Ive met is a Taiwanese born Kiwi wine maker who bides his time between making wine in NZ and the Hunter Valley. Hes a walking encyclopedia of wine making and he's also blind...Ive never met a guy with such well developed senses of taste and smell. His guide dog is a bit of an expert too.....he can pick up the scent of a piece of cheese from 100m away!

Apart from simply enjoying drinking wine, as a Geologist Im fascinated by the influence geology and soil has on the character of a wine....trying to identify what makes wines from a particular area different from wines from another part of the country.

Martin

I dare say that the soil type has a lot more affect on the end result than the closure. It will be interesting to see what happens. I love the stuff too much to stop drinking it because of a screwcap (he says with a glass in his hand).

BTW did anyone see the article in SMH today that reports on a new study regarding wine consumption as it relates to brain efficiency? If it's true, I should be a veritable genius

Originally Posted by silentC

I dare say that the soil type has a lot more affect on the end result than the closure. It will be interesting to see what happens. I love the stuff too much to stop drinking it because of a screwcap (he says with a glass in his hand).

BTW did anyone see the article in SMH today that reports on a new study regarding wine consumption as it relates to brain efficiency? If it's true, I should be a veritable genius

Soil type and climate..part of what they call "Terroir". Ive just finished reading a great book on geology and how it affects the wine growing areas of France. The guys a retired geology professor and hes done some very thorough research on both the geology and wines of the region.

I think youre taking a very mature approach by worrying more about what comes out of the bottle than what's on top of the bottle....its pretty much the way I approach a wine.

Yes I noticed the article on wine and brain efficiency on the SMH website this morning...and like you Im still waiting for these effects to kick in.

I'm surprised Christopha hasn't entered the debate with his beloved Coonawarra reds bottled whether in the norm as the poll suggests or of other means.

Living in the South West of W.A. having access to Margeret River I must admit I still have a preference for time tested corked bottled wine moreover if its the red variety.

Having been party to and with many $$$ laid down with the penchant for a good red over the 25 years we have been fotunate in that the select wineries we visited over time have stayed with a corked bottle which is just as well as it would make my rather unique cork screw redundant.

I still have an SAS 25yr corked port that has stood the test of time and not being a port drinker it is still in perfect seal despite being subject to removals and temperature variation,though I cannot guarantee that the contents are of a like nature.

Cheers or bottoms up, salut'e ,Slang'e

Originally Posted by John Saxton

I'm surprised Christopha hasn't entered the debate with his beloved Coonawarra reds bottled whether in the norm as the poll suggests or of other means.

Might save him the trouble......Coonowarra reds are by far dominate my cellar and I could rave on for hours about them. Got hooked on the Coonowarra while drilling some wells just outside Penola...couldnt leave the place without sampling the wines...felt like the right thing to do since the oil company was naming all its wells after the local vineyards.

The Coonowarra Terra-Rosa versus the "other" soils debate is a very interesting one and I havent yet come to a conclusion as to whos right and whos wrong.