Screw caps for fine wines.?

Question

Am I the only one that just abhors the trend of more and more finer wineries (including it seems almost all from New Zealand now) bottling with screw corks? Not that I recommend going back to risking tainted corks, but artificial corks first introduced about 2 decades ago were just fine whilst preserving the romance of opening the bottle.

Answer 1

I agree with the lost romance of the cork. The upside is that you could still use a fancy stopper once you've opened the bottle. At least it's not a box...talk about totally without romance.

Still, there is the decanting option as mentioned previously. Since it's already a good idea for a red, perhaps it will be more prevalent.

Answer 2

The reason for the change is the taint in the corks, it was costing the wineries too much money to continue. Even some customers were going away from certain wineries that they had a bottle from with cork taint, so now we have screw tops. The artifical (plastic) were not acceptable because they were too difficult to remove. Change is constant, guess we'll just have to get used to it. You could decant the wine into a beautiful decanter and present it with a couple of glasses and a rose, romance!

Answer 3

screw caps were normally associated with cheap wine. However, if you know anything you would know that some of the best wines now come with screw caps due to the difficulties experienced with cork farming and cork disease. From experience I would say that a bottle of wine with screw or cork would last anything from 30 - 45 mins. Seriously it will be ok for a couple of days but put it in the fridge if white. Red wine is not normally as good once opened but put in fridge for a short time to cool slightly and it too will be ok. I firmly believe that red wine was served at room temperature when people lived in stone castles and did not have central heating!

Answer 4

I, personally, like the trend. The only reason screw caps were not used originally is because they were not available. If they had been, someone in modern times trying to introduce a cork for a bottle would look pretty stupid. It's traditional elitist wine snobs who want to separate themselves that get bent out of shape over these things. I love wine, and sometimes a corkscrew is just not handy.

Answer 5

I've got no problem at all with screw caps. I've lost track of how many corkscrews I've broken on those *@%# plastic "corks". The convenience far outweighs the perceived loss of...whatever.The question remains: will fine wine age and mature for 5, 10 , or more years in a screw cap bottle? We'll know in 10 years or so.

Answer 6

Everyone loves that pop when opening a bottle but the cork & I don't get along. I love the plastic twist off. Besides the cork never goes back in as "easy" as it came out !

Answer 7

Screw caps actually make the wine keep better and decrease the occurence of getting a "corked" bottle. The reason that this movement hasn't occured sooner is due to pseudo wine snobs such as yourself.

Answer 8

I really like those artificial corks! They are easier to get out. I don't really like the screw tops but they are handy when you don't drink the whole bottle. What is worse though are those drink box containers for wine! Imagine putting that on your dining room table!! How "down shifting"!

Answer 9

I'm with you on this one. I don't think I'm a wine snob or anything - but it's just not the same without a cork. I think you pegged it - It simply takes the romance out of opening the bottle.

Answer 10

The screwcap is more reliable than the artificial corks and easier to open. Plus, it's easier to re-seal which can be important in the restaurant and bar setting.