The Cork vs. Screw Cap Controversy

Wednesdays on the BottleBlog will feature an education session on wine, beer or spirits. Today Shannon Spare shares her experiences as a beginner in the World of Wine.

It's always been kind of a weird fantasy of mine to order a bottle of wine at a fancy restaurant, and upon being presented with a cork to smell and a few drops of the wine to taste, sip the wine and violently spray it out of my mouth, proclaiming, "This is swill!"

I don't know why, but I always thought that would be hilarious.

Truth be told, I had no idea why the waiter or waitress always insisted upon going through with this wine ritual, and I was always a little weirded out and embarrassed that I had no idea what to do, or what to expect, when tasting a bottle of wine I ordered, so I turned it into a joke.

I recently learned from a co-worker that the reason they do that, is because it's said by some wine experts that 3% to 5% of all wine in the world that is sealed with natural cork is "corked," as they say. "Corked" means that a wine has spoiled or is tainted due to the presence of something called TCA. Without getting too scientific on you, TCA is caused when naturally-occurring tree bark fungi meets up with another tree bark compound called chlorphenols, and all kinds of chemical reactions go down. The result is that the wine smells and tastes really bad.

I've never tasted "corked" wine before, rather, if I have I've never noticed it before. Apparently some folks are more sensitive to it than others, and wines are "tainted" at different levels. I've been told that when you come across a wine that is really corked, you'll know it without a doubt.

To combat the corking of wines, some winemakers have decided to do away with corks entirely, and seal their wines with screw tops. I've always thought that screw caps were a sign of "cheap" wine, and have avoided them altogether if I was bringing a bottle to a party or something. I now know that perfectly good, even quite high end, wines are sealed with corks. Technically speaking, there is nothing wrong with a screw cap-sealed wine. It's an air-tight, adequate seal and it completely eliminates the issue of tainted wine.

Some wine experts are conflicted, however. One benefit of corks is that the cork allows a tiny, minute amount of oxygen into the wine, which helps it age. Other than that one small beneft, the screw cap is just as good!

So, when you're shopping for bottles of wine, be it fine wine or a more economical choice, don't turn your back on screw caps just because you've heard they aren't as good! In fact, one of my favorite wines that I've tried since starting here is Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon. It's sealed with a screw cap, and it's delicious. But y'know, there's just something about cranking a corkscrew down into a cork and pulling it out that adds to the whole wine "experience" as well. Bottom line, try them both, try them all, and drink what you like best!

Do you prefer wines with a cork or a screw cap? Why? What do you think of Excelsior Cabernet? Leave me a comment and let me know!