- Publish Date: Jul 24, 2009
Cork or Screw Cap? Historically it was considered poor form to serve wine from a bottle with a screw cap. But that reputation is no longer deserved, as proven by our friends in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, and South Africa. Even the French are using screw caps more and more, with great success.
The argument for natural corks (which in fact come from cork trees) is that they are essential for wines in that they allow for a natural gaseous exchange while the bottle ages, enhancing the flavors over time. There is also the indisputable romance of removing a cork from a bottle of wine.
Screw cap fans will retort, however, that 5-10% of bottles with natural corks arrive “corked.” (Technical definition: the wine is overly oxidized or flawed, often due to the presence of a substance called TCA, which is used to sanitize the cork before bottling.) Cork screw advocates also point out that it's much easier to take off a screw cap than to remove a cork, and easier to re-close that rare bottle you do not finish with a screw cap.
So which side of the debate do you fall out on? Weigh in and see what others thought to your right.
