Natural Cork vs. Artificial Cork vs. Screw Cap Controversy

The advocates of screwcaps are often quite passionate and in the past I have been subject to a torrent of invective from one or two for making this point.

Tim,

Just to clarify, you are not the "Tim" that I was refering to in my earlier post. That pro-cork Tim made the issue very personal and made the argument downright nasty. You would never be confused with him. Good natured debate can be fun as long as everyone recognizes that I am right.

PS: I agree with your argument on potential aging differences between closures. However, since comparatively few wines are meant for medium/long term aging, and approximately 99% (Okay, I'm making that up, but I bet I'm not far off) of all wines are consumed within on year doesn't it make sense to bottle the vast marjority of wines under screw cap?

Daniel,
a little googling leads me to think it's from Defoe's The Storm.

Oswaldo,
If you like the style (inox), Louis Michel is now bottling some AC and 1ers (but not the GCs I think) under screwcap. Very good wines. And in Cote d'Or I think Matrot has both Bourgogne AC and village under stelvin.

Dave,
I voted for screwcap, and am a general advocate, but a summary page by a screwcap advocacy group scarcely is definitive, just as an opposing summary from a cork association or Paul White isn't.

Thanks all for the nice tone of debate.

Daniel had me at "Donne".

PS: I agree with your argument on potential aging differences between closures. However, since comparatively few wines are meant for medium/long term aging, and approximately 99% (Okay, I'm making that up, but I bet I'm not far off) of all wines are consumed within on year doesn't it make sense to bottle the vast marjority of wines under screw cap?

Yes it does. At my age I am now buying very few long term agers, where I would be reticent about screwcaps, except where I can find bottles with close to 10 years already on them. So practically all my purchases of new wine are for short/medium term drinking and I would happy to buy those under screwcap. Alas in this market I don't have the opportunity; indeed synthetics seem to be preferred because the look more like the "real thing"!!!

Maybe I didn't read through this tread carefully enough. It seems to me that the author of this survery is writing an article for the general public, and he thinks the gerneral public thinks that good wine doesen't come under a screw cap. If he can demonstrate that geeks think otherwise, it could help to turn the general public and even some wineries around. I can see no reason why all super market wine and most in places like Whole Foods can't be under a screw cap.

I would not mind if all my rotation and half of my lay down (for 3-5 years), had screwcaps. Istill think that long term agers need a cork, but that could change.

Well, we could look at the cork to screwcap thing from a different perspective:

Initially, anyone who suggested an alternative to cork was staunchly resisted by those who supported the cork and simply could not imagine any alternative. At that time the perception was that anything but the cheapest wines came bottled under cork. We were told that both casual customers and wine geeks would never....never....accept anything but corks.

Then, within a relatively short period of time, we saw the appearance of various and sundry artifical/synthetic/post-manufactured stoppers. Most of these were either short term, or didn't work as well as they should...but the point is, they were accepted, and the idea that there were other closures available was even more acknowledged and accepted.

The screwcap, with some new designs and a handful of passionate supporters (most of whom were outraged that bad corks--whether tainted or failing----had ruined so many wines), began to appear, and then to rather rapidly gain ground.

Again, within a short period of time, we have moved from generally accepted cork closures, to the possibility of alternatives, to the general idea that screwcaps are more efficient and do a better job.

At every step of the way there were people shouting "Romance" and "Tradition" and resisting change for some curious aesthetic reasons, or simple familiarity. And at every step of the way, those resistant to change came up with real or imagined hurdles. And every single time, those hurdles were either removed or proven to be false.

Now the current cry of the resisters is "There's not enough evidence yet to show that long-term aging is the same under cork, so we shouldn't change anything until we're absolutely, positively, without any question or doubt or possibility of error!!!" Which is simply another way of saying they don't want change. that's all. And that they will never have sufficient evidence to move away from cork.

So, again, we've moved from "Never, as long as I live. Never." to "Well, sometimes maybe, but just for very short term wines." to "Well, yeah, medium term is okay I guess, but I need more proof, more proof (despite it being proven that corks are flawed themselves in so many ways)."

In military terms that might be called a rout, and the staunch resisters a doughty and brave last stand of the rearguard against the onslaught of alternative closures.

So in the end, it's not the pontificators against (neither various and sundry Tims and Rogovs) or for (Bueker, myself, many others) who are in the least important: it's the producers who wish to create better wines and the purchasers who wish to buy wines that are bottled under the best perceived closure who will make the difference.

[James Roscoe]

The advocates of screwcaps are often quite passionate and in the past I have been subject to a torrent of invective from one or two for making this point.

Mr. York, you would NEVER be confused with THAT Tim! Cheers!

...it's the producers who wish to create better wines and the purchasers who wish to buy wines that are bottled under the best perceived closure who will make the difference.

There you have commercial Darwinism in action.

I am not sure that customers are the problem, the wine trade is exceedingly conservative. Tesco's in the UK switched a number of their volume wines to screwcap and AFAIK had very good response from consumers.

I have taken the liberty of starting a parallel thread, not to settle the cork/screwcap controversy but to examine the attitudes of those who take one side or another of the debate. The thread is at viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22075

....... And there are screwcaps and then there are Stelvins.

FWIW, stelvins every time, every wine, for me.

Peter your comments surprise me - surely you know that Stelvin is just a brand name for a wine bottle screwcap and I am sure that only very recently, on your down under travels, you would have consumed many wines sealed with either Alvis, Globalcap 'Divinum' (http://www.globalcap.co.nz) or Auscap 'Supervin' closures.

Alvis was the first screwcap manufacturing plant set up in New Zealand, ironically by the importers of Stelvin, as Stelvin could not supply enough screwcaps to meet demand. Globalcap was the second. It seems that Globalcap and Auscap are now owned by the same parent company, Guala Closures.

Cheers,
Sue

They're all problematic. No one good, right answer.

Please stop! Please stop! I can't STAND IT any more!

Dear friends: Please read this before engaging in any further opining...I'd be very, very grateful.

What's new here?

That is exactly my point!!

I am not sure that customers are the problem, the wine trade is exceedingly conservative. Tesco's in the UK switched a number of their volume wines to screwcap and AFAIK had very good response from consumers.

I think even in Australia, when the Clare rieslingmakers banded together to bottle their 2000 vintage under screwcap, all the market research said that a majority of consumers wouldn't buy wine under such a seal. Either the research was wrong, or there were enough people to buy the wines that were available.
After all, if 80% of people say they'll only buy wine under cork, and you've got 5000 cases of screwcapped sealed wine to sell, you'll only have a problem if that 20% is less than 5000 buyers...!
Consumers proved far more versatile and adaptable than the industry and its market research thought. (Maybe the research wasn't directed at people who bought wine to start with!)
In the early days (2001-02) I'd sometimes ask at retail wine shops whether they'd encountered any resistance from customers to buying wines under screwcap, and without exception they all said that there was no resistance.
Most people are buying a wine, not a seal - if their preferred wine has moved to screwcap, then only a tiny proportion (if any) of buyers seemed inclined to refuse it on the grounds of the seal.
I don't believe Australian consumers are that different to their counterparts in Europe and America.
cheers,
Graeme

I have been doing research into the public perception of Natural Cork vs. Artificial Cork vs. Screw Cap Controversy. Though there is increasing industry support for screw tops there is a large amount of resistance from the public and wine purist. There are many cons relating to natural cork including cork taint, lack of quality cork supplies. Cons with Artificial Cork is plastic cork taint and difficulty of opening, Cons of Screw Tops included perception of cheap wine, bottle manufacturing costs.

And just to follow up on the above, from the Down Under perspective, this looks like a statement that was made at least five years ago. Market research may say there is resistance from the public, but it's an illusion. Is it really true in North America that threaded bottles are more expensive? Surely not by now?
Graeme

Cons with Artificial Cork is plastic cork taint

Evidence?

Is it really true in North America that threaded bottles are more expensive?

No. But the reality is that only a small proportion of bottles are sealed with a screwcap. I did a quick count at Safeway yesterday- fewer than one in twenty.

I have been doing research into the public perception of Natural Cork vs. Artificial Cork vs. Screw Cap Controversy. Though there is increasing industry support for screw tops there is a large amount of resistance from the public and wine purist. There are many cons relating to natural cork including cork taint, lack of quality cork supplies. Cons with Artificial Cork is plastic cork taint and difficulty of opening, Cons of Screw Tops included perception of cheap wine, bottle manufacturing costs.

And just to follow up on the above, from the Down Under perspective, this looks like a statement that was made at least five years ago. Market research may say there is resistance from the public, but it's an illusion. Is it really true in North America that threaded bottles are more expensive? Surely not by now?
Graeme

Well illusion or not I usually I like to let the market do the talking as it is the individuals opinion that gets them to make a purchasing decision. So even though this statement may appear five years old the wineries still haven't made a huge switch to artificial or screw caps. From the polls and surveys I have done it truly does look like the public that I speak with still does have the impression that screw tops equal cheaper wine or at least cheaper wineries. So until the shelves at the local wine store, grocery store and restaurant start filling up with screw top wines the illusion seems quite real.

I think education and more media exposure of the benefits and efficiencies relating to screw caps will hasten the transition. But really it is the wineries choice as to when and if they make a shift now or in the future.

Rob, I think it has been proven beyond any doubt that a poll's worth is dependent upon how you ask the question and to whom you pose it.

There's either a fine art or science involved in that very point. Maybe (probably) it's both a fine art and a science.

In any case, suffice it to say that it appears the market is in a progressed stage of transition from cork to other closures. Such a thing won't happen overnight...and I don't think it should, to be honest. As long as it happens to the degree that I have availability of the wines I desire in the closures I desire, I'll be happy.

Despite what some folks here like to believe, I'm not trying to stamp out corks----I simply don't want them on the wines I wish to drink; I want o have alternatives to what I and others perceive as a flawed and faulty way to close wine bottles. Pure and simple.

Your survey is casual, and fully dependent on where you are and how closely you look. What type of store are you in, and what type of clientele are we talking about? And what type of buyer are we talking about? I would imagine you'd get a very different result if you went into TESCO, for instance, than if you went into Ye Olde Wine Consultant Shoppe for Discerning Gentlemen of the Victorian Era.

I applaud your attempt to get a handle on this, but it's difficult to keep charts and graphs of the progress.

Also, keep in mind that polls and questionnaires taken a few years ago, when people couldn't imagine anything other than what they knew at that time (which is most of the human race, frankly), they would almost inevitably favor the status quo. That, and people oddly enough don't always tell the truth when they answer polls. (I've been in Marketing; I know whereof I speak.) But the shift in perception of screwcap has been rather significant within the last few years, and I expect the trend to sharpen. As a matter of fact, I've already seen it sharpen.

Case in point: a winery I know. Produces ten wines. Two years ago introduced a Sauvignon Blanc in a screwcap closure. Sold out (not because of the screw cap closure, because the wine was excellent; screwcap closure didn't slow it down at all though). Marketing whizzes relaxed a little when that happened and asksed if it might be okay to put other wines in screwcap, so the following year a Rose was done that way. Third year, Marketing announced that all white wines would be released under screwcap. That leaves four wines (red) left. I expect they'll shift withing the next couple of vintages. That's a rather radical shift in three years, wouldn't you say?

Case in point: a winery I know. Produces ten wines. Two years ago introduced a Sauvignon Blanc in a screwcap closure. Sold out (not because of the screw cap closure, because the wine was excellent; screwcap closure didn't slow it down at all though). Marketing whizzes relaxed a little when that happened and asksed if it might be okay to put other wines in screwcap, so the following year a Rose was done that way. Third year, Marketing announced that all white wines would be released under screwcap. That leaves four wines (red) left. I expect they'll shift withing the next couple of vintages. That's a rather radical shift in three years, wouldn't you say?

Rob,
This is what I mean by illusory market research. I'm not saying the research is poor, or even biased. But people say they won't buy under screwcap, yet if it is there, they do. Yes, it's the wineries' choice to use it. But the test of the accuracy of the research is not whether the wineries act in accordance with it, it's what happens in real life - if consumers get the choice.
And the example Hoke quotes is the experience of nearly every winery in Australia that's switched. Any wineries staying with cork are NOT doing so because of consumer wishes, they're only doing so because of winemaking/aging concerns or 'traditional' attitudes.
Statements like "research shows that consumers won't buy screwcaps" or "consumers prefer corks" are just hypotheses. They need to be tested. In the early days most wineries who released their production under both seals (ie. bottling a wine 50/50 under cork & screwcap) were bemused to see the screwcap wines sell out so much faster than the traditionally-sealed bottle. Wineries merely reacting to market research is NOT a test of reality.
(In the most surprising alternate-closure story of all, Seppelt in Victoria disgorged their 1994 Sparkling Show Shiraz at the usual 10 years of age, sealed it under either a traditional mushroom cork or a crown seal, then proceeded to watch virtually the entire stock of crown-sealed wine sell out before they'd moved a single case of the 'corked' wine.)
cheers,
Graeme

Hoke and Graeme Gee, when writing I always try to keep an objective outlook and avoid far reaching statement such as research show, unless their is great research. I confess that the poll started with this thread and the people I have spoken with do not constitute quality research. The feedback received from this topic and the group have been great and continually help me to bring multiple points of view into my overall thoughts on the topic. I especially like to hear how the wineries from down under continue to be progressive. As both Australia and New Zealand are leaders in implementing screw caps but you also mention crown-sealed, have you seen any recent quality studies that report the number of wineries or % of wineries that has made the transition?

I have seen reports from sources like the New Zealand Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative that stated in 2006 that 'Current estimates are that 90% of New Zealand wines will be sealed with a screwcap.' Reporting for 2007 and 2008 seem fairly sparse. Though even without solid numbers I think we can suffice it to say that screw caps usage is quite substantial in New Zealand and Australia and on the rise?

Maybe 20 years ago I was managing a local wine and spirits shop in California. We used to buy 'house' spirits (gin, vodka, bourbon) from a company that bottled them under our label. One day I was horrified to see that they had shipped the 1.75L sizes in plastic bottles; I was sure the regular buyers of these spirits, mostly older, would hate the change. They loved it. The bottles were lighter, the products tasted the same, not a single complaint.

I have seen reports from sources like the New Zealand Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative that stated in 2006 that 'Current estimates are that 90% of New Zealand wines will be sealed with a screwcap.' Reporting for 2007 and 2008 seem fairly sparse. Though even without solid numbers I think we can suffice it to say that screw caps usage is quite substantial in New Zealand and Australia and on the rise?

OK, well, speaking as an Australian consumer (I don't have exact market figures, therefore) I'm confident that the vast majority - 95%+ - of aromatic / non-oaked whites in both countries are under screwcap. Of whites seeing oak - viognier, chardonnay, etc, I reckon the figure would be at least 80%, probably higher. Almost every rose in both countries is under screwcap. For pinot I suspect NZ would be running at least 80% screwcap, Oz maybe slightly less. Cork probably has its best toehold at the top end of the price scale, but even there I'd be surprised if it holds more than 50% (less in NZ)
Fuller-bodied reds is cork's best hold-out, although lots of these have gone to Diam or derivatives of cork. Still, I'd think that at less than A$20, screwcaps would seal a good two-thirds of Australian reds, probably more. As you go up the price-scale the % of screwcap-sealed wines drops, but still at the top a large number of Australia's best wines are available under screwcap (a few offer the choice of seal). $100+ reds like Cullen, Moss Wood, Clonakilla, Brokenwood Graveyard, Wynns John Riddoch, Penfolds RWT, Henschke Mount Edelstone, top Wolf Blass reds. There are plenty of hold-outs sticking with cork for the time being, especially those with a bigger presence in the US market (Torbreck, Clarendon Hills, for instance), but still plenty of others are under cork (or DIam) at the priciest end: Mount Mary, Yarra Yering, Rockford, Jasper Hill, Wendouree, Penfolds Grange & Bin 707.
There are very few makers who've tried screwcaps and then gone back to cork.
I tell you, taking a look around an Australian or NZ bottleshop would be a real eye-opener for anyone who thinks screwcaps aren't quite mainstream yet.
cheers,
Graeme

Sorry that I just saw this thread because I'd have loved to jump in sooner. I'm a little surprised that no one so far has thought outside the box, or the bottle in this case. I believe that the world is quickly moving to screw tops of various types for appropriate wines, those which are not for aging. However, I will be very surprised if there isn't a movement to the next logical stage, Tetra-Pak, fairly soon.

Ecology and the environment are high on the list of reasons to shift, but the real underlying truth is that anything with an airtight membrane is the ultimate storage and delivery system for most wines, because the wine can't oxydize. (I realize that some wines need contact with oxygen to age, but I think that applies to less than 5% of all wines made.) The real impediment to making it popular packaging is the consumer bias against bag-in-box---which at the end of the day may be less severe than the earlier bias against screwcaps.

Many years ago wines were stored in a goat's stomach. Then the industrial revolution made glass a viable option. I'm sure many people were resistant to glass bottles at first. After all, they weren't goat's stomachs. How many of us would not have gotten very excited about a wine in a screwtop 5 or 6 years ago? Well we're drinking from them now. I think in 5 or 6 years we will be drinking very good and very fresh wine from bag-in-box formats.

Would someone please explain to me why a Stelvin Scew Cap is a better closure than a crown cap. Champagne is closed in a crown cap for years before disgorging. A crown cap is much less expensive and the equipment for installing crown caps is pretty much standard. Stelvin screw caps require special bottles and expensive equipment for installing caps. This can be a hinderance to small wineries (and home winemakers, like me). The only problem regarding crown caps, as I see it, is that nobody makes standard wine bottles that will accept a crown cap. Come on! If in the past few years people have given up the "romance" of pulling corks to emprace the Stelvin, I'm sure the bottle opener could be embraced.

Howie,
I think you have a good idea. The convenience of a screw cap is you can travel with the bottle easier after it has been opened. The local laws here have recently changed to allow guests in restaurants to tak e home any remainig wine they may have left. Therefore, allowing higher wine sales, instead of discouraging whole bottle sales to those who believe that a full bottle is just too much to drink. I will say that a crown cap could be just as easy to reseal on uniform bottles, with the help of a tool. Your point seems a little more "romantic than a screw top presentation. Screw tops can be very un-romantic in table-side presentation.