Why am I seeing more and more wines move from cork to screw top?

Cork taint?

Because of the misconception that we (or I should say Spain) are running out of cork trees. It is an effort from the metal cap producing industry to sell more throw-away caps rather than using regenerating cork.

Check out this site for one view on the debate

Metal is cheaper than cork?

We are running out of cork trees, no kidding…

@flameboi: Really? I would like to see proof of that. Cork Oak is regenerating and while supplies are limited (intentionally) they are plentiful. Cork Oaks live 500 years and cork can be harvested ever 7–10 years. There has been some worry about families leaving the cork oak farms that have been in their family for years but that just hasn’t happened, so far.

Metal caps or synthetic cork may not be a bad thing as afar as keeping wine fresh and not tainting the wine, but have you ever tried to smell a cap or a synthetic cork?

@flameboi: Really? I would like to see proof of that. Cork Oak is regenerating and while supplies are limited (intentionally) they are plentiful. Cork Oaks live 500 years and cork can be harvested every 7–10 years. There has been some worry about families leaving the cork oak farms that have been in their family for years but that just hasn’t happened, so far.

Metal caps or synthetic cork may not be a bad thing as afar as keeping wine fresh and not tainting the wine, but have you ever tried to smell a cap or a synthetic cork?

Many wine makers are changing to the screw top because of the quick use of the wine on the consumer’s side. Corks are primarily for use when the wine is going to be stored for a long period of time, but people are changing the way they buy and use wine. Now, instead of buying a bottle of wine and storing it in a cellar for years, consumers are buying wine and drinking it immediately. As long as the screw-top wine is not going to be stored for a long period of time, there is no difference whatsoever with the quality or taste of the wine.

I went to a wine tasting at a nearby winery, and they mentioned that many bottlers were moving in that direction because of cork taint.

Les has the right answer. A screwtop (or even bottlecap as is the case with some Austrian wines) is just saying, “Drink me now!”

Very good answer, Les! I agree that for wine that is designed for quick consumption a metal or synthetic cork is not a problem.

You all are fantastic. Thank you. I agree, there is no difference in taste. I don’t buy to store. I rarely drink, but when I decide I want a glass of wine, I go buy a bottle and open it. I can see that for my purposes, a screw top makes no difference. For the gifts I give, I don’t know when the wine will be opened, so I think a cork is the best bet there.

Thank you for all of your shared wisdom. Great answers all around.

@mamasu…I assume you are not talking about Boone’s Farm Wine..right? ;)

@ Les, great answer!

LOL cak. NO Boone’s Farm. Actually, I’ve noticed it mostly with Italian wines, but that’s because I usually drink Italian wines. Would you believe I have never even tasted Boone’s farm?

No way. You’ve never tried Boone’s Farm? I’m shocked! Wait…did you go to a southern college? (I think it’s a requirement in southern colleges) I mean really! We could buy two bottles for $3! Stawberry something was my favorite! (nasty hangover!)

Mama, my husband just got a gift basket and it had three bottles of wine, all had the metal screw tops…he immediately called me asking what was up with that, he just hadn’t seen that, before.

@cak, never tried it. Ohio was more about cheep beer. We played guessing games to creatively figure out just what sorts of waste and debris might actually go into the making of Old Swill.

Tell hubby I’m glad I’m not alone and he clearly needs to be commended for being so inquisitive like a certain penguin. I actually went to pick up some bottles of my current favorite to pass along as welcome gifts to our new neighbors. I was shocked to see the screw top. Naturally, I bought one of those for me and another wine for my neighbors.

A few friends of mine and I visited a wineyards in Chile last year, and they explained to us that the higher wine demand in countries were wine was not a common drink (India, China & Japan for example) are forcing the wineyards to replace cork with sythetic cork, and in worse cases, metal screw tops…
Les is right, cork is better when you are going to store the wine for a long period of time, so, cheap wines with synthetic corks or screw tops are not big deal… for me, I wouldn’t drink wine from a screw top bottle…

@flameboi, that makes a lot of sense. I’m going to try this screwtop business but I’m wary. I’ll be very sad if my fave moves entirely to screw top. It takes me several days to finish a bottle of wine and I don’t see how the screw top will keep it better than the cork.

I envy your vineyard trip in Chile. I would imagine it was wonderful.

It was mamasu a whole week drinking wine just imagine that!
The thing is that this whole new market craves for high end wines a single japanese guy placed an order of 1000 bottles of a $700.00 a bottle Merlot so, yes, if the market keeps growing like this, we will run out of cork trees that’s why they are moving

We’ve had a few bottles with synthetic cork…again, gift baskets. A little odd.

I guess I’m a traditionalist. I really do prefer cork. I don’t know, just something I’ve always been used to doing, uncorking a good bottle of wine.

I’m going to go out on a limb here (not on the cork tree) and say that it is much easier to open the SECOND bottle of wine when it has a screw top, than trying to use the corkscrew and then break off the cork and then pieces go in your mouth when you are trying to pull it out with your teeth…and then you spill it because you have the bottle tipped….....

And cak? Boone’s Farm was delish! when I was in college – all the way up north here in MA! LOL! Such a deal!

@all: Hey, thanks for the “GA“s. I think I watched a story about this issue On CBS’ Sunday Morning, so I thought I would spread the knowledge. ;-)

Autumn, I love you. I just laughed so hard I spit iced tea all over my desk. I’m going to go change now, but I have a fantastic mental image of trying to open a bottle of wine with my teeth and spitting out chunks of cork.

I just wish that I had saved the corks from every bottle of wine I’ve opened. I could build a boat and go somewhere. I’d take a case of wine with me, of course.

well Goldie – whatever floats your boat! ;-)

Well, could we all join you on the cork boat? I want more wine! My bottle is empty! and I don’t have another to screw the top off of, or bite the cork out of!

My friend collects corks. It is quite impressive! She also has a basket made out of corks that holds the corks. It’s huge and really cool. But not as cool as a cork boat would be….

i like the idea of a cork boat – there is just something wildly exotic about it.

Think about this: If we had historically put wine into bottles with screw tops and someone came along and said “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we stick a piece of tree bark into the tops of wine bottles instead of using screw tops?” We would call him crazy for wanting to replace a totally sealed and sanitary closure for one that can leak and in about 10% of bottles, causes an unpleasant taste in the wine called “cork taint.” Objection to screw caps is probably based on snobbery because of the fact that inexpensive wines were the first to use them.

@ItsAHabit : I think your figure of 10% is high. What source do you have to support that number?

Thanks, breedmitch. You’re correct that my figure is a little high. James Laube, writing in Wine Spectator magazine, reports that in a 2005 study of 2,800 bottles tasted at the at its blind-tasting facilities, 7% of the bottles were found to be tainted.

A website at the University of California at Davis (A world-leading enology center) reports that “The estimated incidence of cork-tainted wine bottles ranges from 2 – 7%. At a conservatively estimated taint rate of 2%, the estimated costs [loss to consumers] of using cork stoppers as wine bottle closures amount to $281 million a year in the United States alone” (Butzke et al., 1998).
http://waterhouse.ucdavis.edu/ven219/cork_taint__tca_and_related_compounds.htm