Wine made simple

Option B.
Screw caps are easier, quicker and more reliable.

Im not really swayed either way but I do think there is something special about opening a bottle with a cork

Fiona

Neither - there is room for both. I like screw tops but I am also happy to have corks sometimes - Champagne being a prime example!

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I must say I'm in the anti-cork camp. While I agree that there is something special about opening a wine with a cork, there's really nothing less special than having to pour that wine down the drain because of cork taint.

Although the numbers are improving, the percentage of wines spoiled by cork is still at a level no other industry would tolerate.

Recent first-hand examples include a bottle of Bollinger Grand Annee that went down the sink before my very eyes. I almost wept.

Well with rational hat on its a screw cap,no brainer, but since when has rationality had much to do with food , wine, fragrance,cars and all the other great things in life ? If I were to sit down in a fine dining room , dressed to the nines (chance would be a fine thing) I doubt that the dulcet tones of the wine waiter cracking open a screw top would do it for me to tell the truth

My head says the screw cap is the sensible choice, but my heart says that pulling a cork is the right way to start a good bottle of wine.
(And the snob in me won't give a present of a screw cap wine)

The worst option is the artificial cork, with the cheap image but neither the convenience of a screw cap nor the class of a real cork from 7-9 year old bark.
I'm a pragmatist and will tolerate screw caps on "everyday" wine, but expect cork to seal the "special treat" wines.
Yes, you can get the occasional corked wine, but I've only had a couple out of an estimated several thousand bottles, and winemaking is a craft, not an exact science. If we want to get totally consistent wine it would be in screw cap but would be made by an industrial process from chemicals rather than grapes..
After all it's a shame to have the finished wine spoilt by the odd bad grape or lack of sunshine in some years !!! This approach would of course put the wine growers and vintners out of business, so maybe they should consider supporting the traditional cork industry, at least for their better wines.
We won't stop change, but let's continue to respect corks as a mark of better wines.
Does anyone know if wine bottles with screw caps need to be stored on their sides, like traditional wine bottles with corks ?
My understanding is that corks need to be kept wet to stop them shrinking if they dry out, so that's why wine is traditionally stored on its side.

Yes corked bottles need to be stored horizomtally.

I don't mind screwcaps with modern whites - however with charcetr reds - Bordeaux/Burgundy - the snob inside of me prefers corks. And as someone here has already said - you can't beat the sound of the cork popping out of the bottle - and........

....... I do like my collection of old fashioned bottle openers!

Either - it is the wine inside the bottle that counts.

Love the sound of a cork being pulled - builds the anticipation and theatre of opening a bottle but for practicality screw caps are unbeatable - eg picnic, surreptitiously in a hotel room etc!

We need to move on from the snob value and consider the bottle's contents. In my many years of drinking I have only had 2 bottles which were corked and both were replaced by the shops where they were bought. I do not believe the cork is always at fault- various factors come into play incluidng the barrels it is matured in etc.

Definitely screwcap, no chance of wine being corked and perfect for picnics, the beach etc

Screw Cap every time, I work in restaurants and corked wines are far more common than they ought to be. Why run the risk of tainting the wine when you can almost guarantee a perfect bottle with a stelvin closure? That said, it is not impossible for a screw top wine to be 'spoiled' - the wine can react with the lining of the cap - I forget the technical term at the moment, but it does occur. Far less often than cork taint however.

Screw caps easier all round but the tradionalist in me says natural Cork, don't like the Synthetic ones.

We visited a Small family run Bodega ( Ramirez de Piscina) in Rioja this year and when asked the question about using screw caps they were horrified at the suggestion. In their words "We leave that to the Australians and South Africans" .

In the end though I agree with westonlad, 'It's what's in the bottle that counts'

Did you know that the use of screw caps is threatening some species who live in cork oak forests? I know the Iberian Lynx is at risk in Portugal as farmers decide to uproot trees which are no longer profitable now cork use is in decline. Indeed, land that these trees grow on is often very poor quality; once they're gone, the earth turns really dusty and unusable.
Something else to consider in this debate, perhaps!

I am sort of neutral on the issue. I do have concern on the quality of some of the screw caps - I have had a few just recently that 'turn' (the cap AND the bit on the bottom) and don't break off like they should. Have had to resort to a sharp knife - not very good.

I also lived in the Middle East and wines that had the traditional cork were regularly off - I'd say maybe 2 from every 10 even bought from reputable outlets. High temperatures and bad storage conditions really affect corked bottles.

Regards

Ian

I like real cork, despite its problems, but I hate the argument that cork forests are threatened by using other types of stoppers. If Spain and Portugal value these forests, they should protect them from being dug up.