The Cork Versus the Screw Cap:
Is There Any Influence on the Quality of the Wine?

The cork stopper: a necessity for ageing wines

The cork stopper is above all the choice of tradition.

For a long time, this small piece of bark from the cork oak tree has demonstrated its amazing properties:

• Unlike other woods, it does not disintegrate over time.
• It is fire and water resistant.
• Cork has antistatic, low density, thermal, acoustic and vibratory insulating properties.
• Its ability to promote gas exchange allows the wine to age perfectly. The cork must allow the wine to breathe without excess or insufficiency so that it can be preserved, but also continue to live and develop.
• It assures the authenticity of the terroir.

But for connoisseurs, the cork is more than just a material. The ceremonial extraction of the cork is even a ritual for the purists.

It appeals with other aspects too:

• The feel is agreeable.
• It is a natural material.
• Cork forests are good for the environment: they stop the advance of deserts.
• The state of the cork, its texture, its smell says a lot about the product even before tasting it.
• The cork is the key to the proper aging of the wine.

Cork is undoubtedly the most suitable material to guarantee the successful maturation of wine. Long, single piece corks are to be preferred, and they should be made from quality cork oak. Estates producing Grands Crus would be taking a risk doing it without the help of cork. Some winegrowers could be tempted to make savings as its value keeps the cost of this material up.

The screw cap: Practical, but what about the taste?

To cope with the shortage of expensive cork, alternatives have appeared. The synthetic plastic cork facsimile, which appeared in the 2000s, is one such alternative, but we do not yet have the necessary hindsight to assess its quality in terms of wine ageing. As for the aluminium screw cap, introduced since the early 1970s on the wine market, particularly in the wine-producing countries of the new world, its use does not allow the wine to age. Unlike cork, the screw cap prevents the carbon dioxide content from decreasing after 1 or 2 years of packaging.

Synthetic corks and screw caps are therefore reserved for wines to be drunk young, for everyday consumption. Of the two alternatives to cork, the screw cap is the least popular. It is too often criticised and has a bad reputation: it is associated with poor quality wines. Its use has been steadily increasing since 2000.

And for good reason, the screw cap has many advantages:

• Lower production costs than cork, whose supply is in decline
• There is no risk of cork taint (unless the wine barrel itself is contaminated by the molecule responsible for this defect). Obviously, the screw cap avoids the unpleasant surprise of corked wine... Even if studies show that this defect in wine only concerns between 3 and 5% of bottles on the market.
• Ease of opening: This is a very practical aspect which becomes a major argument when you don't have a corkscrew at hand. Since they are for everyday wines, screw cap bottles are perfect for impromptu aperitifs and picnics!
• Easy closing for carrying the bottle
• The bottles can be stored upright, as the cork stopper does not dry out. Its watertightness is never compromised either..
• The dose of sulphur added to wine to protect it from early oxidation is slightly reduced. Sulphur itself is becoming increasingly controversial..
• It keeps the wines fresh: It is even its major plus!

The screw cap is a guarantee of freshness for wines to be drunk within 2 years, and does not detract from the quality of the container.

These bottles are perfect for summer rosé wines, fragrant white wines and light fruity red wines. The tests conducted have even confirmed on several occasions the supremacy of the screw cap in preserving the aromas of rosé wines.

Sunset on the beach, a country picnic, feet in the water... When summer comes, it's hard to resist the freshness of a rosé wine! The ceremonial side of uncorking the bottle may be missed, but at least a corkscrew is no longer indispensable when you're out and about. With a screw cap at least you'll never miss out on a drink!

TO SUM UP: SHOOTING DOWN PRECONCEPTIONS

To sum up, whether you choose a cork or a screw cap will depend on how long you want to preserve your wine. Wine from screw-cap bottles is not reduced in quality!

The screw cap even perfectly suitable, even optimal for wines to be drunk young because it preserves freshness and aromas. It is therefore ideal for summer rosé wines, fragrant white wines, or light fruity red wines especially for outdoor moments.