A couple nights ago, after a couple glasses of wine, I was opening
a wine and the cork broke because we had a cheap wine opener. Some of the cork
got into the wine and as I was straining out the cork so I could drink the wine
(waste not, want not), I was wondering, why do they put a cork in it? Why not a screw cap? So,
I researched a little bit about the screw vs. cork debate. Apparently, the use
of corks has been supported because they allow wines a little bit of oxygen to
age while screw caps historically did not. Screw caps had initially only been used
on cheap wines but as caps became more acceptable, decent whites that are meant
to be drank young started to use screw caps. Fast forward to today, screw cap
technology has improved and can allow bottles to breathe. In fact, unlike corks
which are all unique and thus allow different levels of breathing, screw caps can
be constructed to allow the specific amount of oxygen you want. So, to me, it
seems that screw caps are a no brainer. I personally hope to see more screw
caps on wine going forward. I’d be interested to hear any reasons corks should
create better quality wine that I might have missed. However, my lazy side
hopes that my belief in screw caps being just as good as cork, if not better,
isn’t dispelled.
I've thought a lot about this too! If screw caps are better for the quality of the wine, I agree it seems obvious to me that more winemakers should be using them. I would guess that the industry is slow to adopt screw caps largely because of the tradition of corked bottles as well as the perception of quality that comes along with it.
ReplyDeleteAdding on though, it's interesting that boxed wine is also much better for maintaining the quality of the wine! But boxed wine really gets a bad rap because of cheap wine like Franzia and so I would imagine that winemakers REALLY are hesitant to move in this direction. But boxed wine is better for the environment (lower carbon footprint) and the wine stays fresher longer because the wine avoids contact with oxygen (it actually stays fresh for up to 6 weeks!!).
Interesting context and discussion of boxed wine here: https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/dont-fear-boxed-wine-benefits-box-wine/
I agree with Emily - in an industry where brand perception is so critical, I think winemakers are hesitant to transition to a screw cap, which can be indicative of lower (perceived) quality. As a naive consumer, I use cues like this to help me figure out which wine to buy and share. For example, I was super excited about the Cannonball Chardonnay from class last week. I had all intentions of bringing it to my friends house for a dinner party, but when I noticed the screw cap I hesitated. Without context of the winemakers story and price point, would my friends think I was bringing a cheap bottle over from 7-11? I think consumer concerns like these keep from winemakers from making the logical switch to screw caps or even boxed wine, because likely the product / operational efficiencies don't overcome the perceived quality differences.
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