Which do you prefer-screwtop cap or cork for your wine bottle and why?

Answer 1

Screwtops are nice for bottle that are meant to be consumed now. There is a myth out there that screwtops take the value ad quality out of the wine. However, there are many high quality wines that really aren't meant for aging. Hence, the screwtop is applicable. However, when it comes to really high end wines, which require aging, I do prefer the cork, as I just don't think there has been enough time to really study the aging process of wine with a screwtop. There are cons to the cork. For instance, the likely hood of you receiving a bottle which is corked (no punn intented) is much higher than that of a screw top.
I can't really say I have a preference. Although I really do wish that they would show some scientific support of the aging process, specifically leakage over a span ove 10 years or more. I'm pretty indifferent.

Answer 2

In order to answer this question correctly, a little history. Cork is a specific type of wood. a long time ago wine was stored in old animal skins, then large clay vessels, and eventually bottles. as technology improved, so the method of storage as well. (whoever thought it would be a good idea to seal a bottle with a piece of wood must have been desperate). its bad points are that wine can still oxidize because of a faulty sea, and that cork wood can contain a chemical called trichloralanisole (TCA). TCA makes wine smell like wet cardboard. not good. one benifit to cork is that it allows wine to age gracefully through micro-oxygenezation (SP?). technology has improved further, and now we have screwcaps. unlike cork, screw caps can be cleaned, so that there is no fear of the wine being corked (affected by TCA). a few weeks ago we had a fairly expensive case of wine in which 2 out of 12 bottles were corked! with screwcaps i dont have to worry about it. Some people say that with screwcaps you dont get the benifits of micro-oxygenization, and so the wine wont age well. however most wine is consumed within the first year or two of release. so thats not really an issue. there also exists screw caps that have a semi-permeable membrane, so that they do allow tiny quantities of oxygen, so that the wine will recieve those benefits, and they can control exactly how much every bottle gets. these membranes aren't any more expensive than regular closures. so the only reason at this point for corks, is aesthetic or marketing. Most people assume screwcap wine is cheap, and so alot of wine is still sealed with a cork because of the market they want to hit. i obviously prefer screwcap, but i do love opening up an old bottle of wine and taking 3 minutes to open it because the cork is falling apart, and then hearing that gasp when the cork is out. wine is romantic and organic, and it is beautiful to see that connection to nature, even if that connection has the potential to ruin the bottle. but screwcaps are here to stay

Answer 3

As a winemaker, screwcaps are the best. All the benefits of a cork without the negative aspect of cork taint or random oxidation. Studies have shown that all ageing reactions in a bottle of wine take place independant of oxygen, meaning that you don't need the "breathing" aspect of corks. From my perspective, the only reason to bottle under cork is due to customer preference, usually with high-end wines.

Answer 4

Although cork seems more authentic, screwtop wins for practical reasons: easy to open (no tools required, unless you're a weakling), easily resealable if you don't finish the whole bottle, and the wine is guaranteed to be fresh, where corks can sometimes leak or shrink and let air in, or suffer from "cork taint"- which can make your wine taste awful

Answer 5

A cork - even though I might buy a $8 bottle of wine, the cork tends to keep it fresh for a few days....

Answer 6

Screw cap.

No cork taint (about 5% of all wines closed with cork are faulty as a result of cork taint)

Easy to open

Easy to reseal

Doesn't need a corkscrew

Answer 7

box its in a sealed bag and does not go bad . once you open wine and air gets to it it starts to go bad. cork if your buying 30$ 40$ and you are going to drink it all

Answer 8

you can find more exotic ecletic wines with screw top now. I prefer cork but the inovation in bottling has increased the tastiness of screw tops

Answer 9

a cork, a screwcap makes you look like should should be drinking it out of a paper bag in a dumpster