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This article was published in The 30 Second Wine Advisor on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005. Voting Booth: Time for screw caps? Last month, in a 30 Second Wine Advisor article titled "Uncorking the industry," I made the provocative suggestion that the jury is just about in: Screw caps offer a better alternative than natural cork or plastic synthetic stoppers as the most practical and effective way to keep wine in bottles. I'll say this without any equivocation when it comes to wines meant to be drunk within a few years after production, and with only a very slight degree of waffling even for high-end, cellarworthy wines to be kept for decades. Naturally, my mail on this bold commentary was mixed. I got a lot of "attaboys" from folks who report that one too many wines spoiled by natural-cork taint have them ready to abandon the tree-bark alternative now and forever. A few, however, defend the 300-year tradition with almost religious fervor. And there's certainly a fair share of consumers who really just don't much care. Because these developments are moving so quickly nowadays, with more and more wines showing up under sturdy Stelvin-brand and similar metal caps, amid reports that even the snootiest sommeliers are quietly mastering new tricks aimed at cracking and untwirling screw caps with style and flair, I thought this would be a good time to host a simple, straightforward, up-and-down Wine Lovers' Voting Booth on the subject. The ballot samples your opinion, and, very roughly, your level of enthusiasm, with five simple choices ranging from "Hell yes!" through "I don't know" to "Hell no!" as we ask, "Are you ready for screw caps on fine wine?" The Voting Booth is anonymous and easy to use, so I hope as many of you as possible will respond, helping us build a solid, if not rigorously scientific, measure of the attitudes of wine lovers around the world.
To cast your ballot, simply click to the Voting Booth,
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