by Administrator
15. October 2008 05:39
To cork or not to cork, that is the question. There are many facets to this particularly heated debate in the wine industry: Tradition, cost, environmental issues, quality, longevity etc. Wine has been sealed by cork for hundreds of years, and it would appear that it has done a fairly good job the standpoint of a wine drinker. However from a winemaker’s point of view, cork can provide some serious challenges that screw caps can alleviate.
One of the main issues regarding the age old method is cork’s substantial failure rate, about 7%, which in almost any other industry (especially in perishables) would be completely unacceptable. Corks are made from the bark of the cork oak tree, and the quality of cork closures (and prices) can very greatly. During production however, the cork becomes susceptible to a nasty little compound called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (or TCA). This will cause the wine it protects to smell musty and spoiled (almost like mildew) and makes the wine undrinkable. High quality cork however is not only getting more expensive, it is getting tougher to come by as the demand increases, so fantastic wines with 20-30 year capabilities are being subject to sub-standard corks that crumble at 15. This being said, high quality cork has proven its ability to perfectly age the world’s great wines, and there is still zero evidence of a screw cap providing the kind of gentle nurturing a fragile wine requires over time.
Another argument for corks is the environmental impact of screw caps. Stelvin closures require not only the mining and smelting of Bauxite (which releases a lot of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere), but they are also neither biodegradable, nor renewable: Both of which cork most certainly is. However, it’s very difficult to ignore the fact that on young wines, or rather those that are meant to be consumed before 10 years (as 95% of the wine on earth is), screw caps not only almost guarantee a wines viability, but tend to keep the price down.
What about tradition and atmosphere? There is certainly something to be said for the tableside presentation of a wine, and something is definitely lost when your sommelier comes over and unscrews your carefully selected bottle like so many soft drinks. The proper opening of a bottle has always been an art form, and a time tested pleasure, like unwrapping a Christmas present.
So then, what do I think? I don’t think there is any “right” answer. I think cork producers need to get on the ball and start seriously increasing the quality of their product (especially since it is such a MAJOR export for Portugal, where 50% of the world’s cork is produced). I think there are merits and drawbacks to both. I think cheaper is not always better, and I think that this debate will rage for years. Now, tell me what you think!
