Natural corks vs. Synthetic

[Craig Camp]

Natural vs. Synthetic

While opening a bottle of 2000 Monte Antico recently, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the synthetic cork and sent a silent "thanks" to Italian wine shipper Neil Empson for making the change. There would be no 'bad' bottle of Monte Antico tonight.

There are so many 'corked' bottles out there I always feel I have to take a back-up bottle to BYOB restaurants. What a pain.

I see a change coming as synthetic corks and screw caps become more and more accepted by consumers. The question is how long it will take to become commonplace on expensive wines. As far as cheaper wines go - anyone producing wine that sells wine for under $10.00 is doing their customers a disservice by using natural cork.

So a question for Claude - is there any movement towards alternative closures in Burgundy?

By the way the Monte Antico continues as being one of the best buys available from Italy.

[ctgm]

I see a change coming as synthetic corks and screw caps become more and more accepted by consumers. The question is how long it will take to become commonplace on expensive wines. As far as cheaper wines go - anyone producing wine that sells wine for under $10.00 is doing their customers a disservice by using natural cork.

I agree that the cheaper range of wines that are not designed to be aged should not use "real" cork as this does not give any benefit to the wine. However until synthetic corks can breath I cannot see any expensive wines using them.

Personally I do not mind synthetic corks but I cannot stand screw caps.

[Craig Camp]

I see a change coming as synthetic corks and screw caps become more and more accepted by consumers. The question is how long it will take to become commonplace on expensive wines. As far as cheaper wines go - anyone producing wine that sells wine for under $10.00 is doing their customers a disservice by using natural cork.

I agree that the cheaper range of wines that are not designed to be aged should not use "real" cork as this does not give any benefit to the wine. However until synthetic corks can breath I cannot see any expensive wines using them.

Personally I do not mind synthetic corks but I cannot stand screw caps.

Do you hate screw caps because of the way they work - or how they look?

[Robin Meredith]

However until synthetic corks can breath I cannot see any expensive wines using them.

There's a school of thought that says that the whole idea of corks "breathing" has no scientific foundation, and that all of the oxygen needed to move a bottle of wine down the evolutionary path resides in the neck of the bottle. Not sure what's right or wrong, but if that could be verified I would think it could be a major shot in the arm for synthetic closures.

Has anyone read anything about potential corrosion issues with screw caps? As the former owner of a very damp cellar, this has always been a sticking point for me.

[nightscotsman]

Here's a descussion we had in the past on screwtops and synthetic corks.

The largest producer of synthetic corks is Supreme Corq here in Washington. If you send them an email or call to request to see their research findings on gas permeability and aging, I'm sure they would be happy to send you the password to the area of their site containing the data.

[ctgm]

There's a school of thought that says that the whole idea of corks "breathing" has no scientific foundation, and that all of the oxygen needed to move a bottle of wine down the evolutionary path resides in the neck of the bottle.  Not sure what's right or wrong, but if that could be verified I would think it could be a major shot in the arm for synthetic closures.

When I made wine in France, we always used to use nitrogen to chase out the air that was in the neck and then create as much of a vacuum as possible before putting in the cork.

Thinking about it this is a little strange if you are then going to put a breathable cork in, which will negate the effects of the nitrogen and a vacuum.

As to Graig Camp's question why I hate screw caps, it is the way they look (and possibly the only wine that I have had with a screw cap, which was from NZ and the name escapes me, was supposed to be very good but was awful).

I have discussed this topic with a few people and the most interesting line of thought was that it doesn't really have a place in wine. The reasoning (which is flawed) was that wine should be reveered and putting on a screw cap downgrades the whole experience of drinking a good bottle. I sort of agree although, as I stated, I know that this train of thought is flawed.

Edited March 31, 2003 by ctgm (log)

[mamster]

The reasoning (which is flawed) was that wine should be reveered and putting on a screw cap downgrades the whole experience of drinking a good bottle. I sort of agree although, as I stated, I know that this train of thought is flawed.

There's an article about this in the current issue of Food Arts in which someone (I gave my issue away already) says, approximately, "If you're accepting a certain percentage of corked wine for sentimental reasons, would you also accept a certain percentage of leaky condoms?"

If you drink wine because you like wine, it doesn't make sense to accept corked wine when solutions are readily available.

[tighe]

This whole issue has become such a Holy War, I find it amusing.

A few years ago, I had a opportunity to talk with Alan Pangborn who was, at the time, the winemaker for Domaine Ste Michell (sparkling wines). He said that the use of real cork in sparkling wines adds $2-$5 to the cost of a bottle and that a 'pop-top' would do a supperior job of sealing the bottle. Obviously this price difference is incidental for any good sparkling wine and I have to admit that not be able to pop the cork would take a lot of the fun out of drinking it.

[ctgm]

He said that the use of real cork in sparkling wines adds $2-$5 to the cost of a bottle and that a 'pop-top' would do a supperior job of sealing the bottle.

There's the problem. With sparkling wines/champagne, I prefer to drink it when a certain amount of the fizz has "disappeared" through the closure.

[ctgm]

I was thinking last night, how many corked bottles do people actually get? I probably open about 200 bottles a year but get no more than 4 or 5 corked bottles. If we are to believe that 1 in 8 are corked (12.5%) this should mean that I get about 25 corked bottles a year.

Why is this the case

(a) I can't tell the difference

(b) the wines that I drink don't generally use the cheapest cork (is this a factor?)

© 1 in 8 is a grossly over exagurated figure

[britcook]

Percentages for corked wines seem to vary, the figure that my wine merchant gives is 5% (1 in 20), but personal experience says that it is less than this. One of the problems is that there are many wine faults but nearly all of them are classed as "cork problems". Just by replacing natural cork by synthetic will not of itself remove those problems, although it might draw attention to the fact that a lot of wine is not in the condition it ought to be. At the moment it is far to easy for anybody in the supply chain from grower to retailer to blame any fault at all on the cork, it's a convenient scapegoat and absolves them of any responsibility for wine that is less than it should be. What with tastings, events and personal consumption I probably get to try the contents of around 500 bottles a year and maybe come across two or three that are truly corked (the taint of TCA really is unmistakeable), but sadly come across rather more that have faults which can be attributed elsewhere - anything from lack of hygiene in the bottling process to poor storage.

The only think I have against synthetic corks is that they're usually an absolute b****** to get out, I've ruined several corkscrews and risked multiple hernias just to get at the contents of a bottle.

[Craig Camp]

In my experience the proportion is a little higher than 5% and it much higher if you include bottles that are just 'not right'. While there are certainly problems with other faults, the advancements in technology have made these increasingly rare. In particular the wines of large firms almost never have technical faults - other than being boring to drink. Corkyness in wines is the number one problem that I encounter by a long shot. The distant second would be brett (which is a whole different debate!).

I firmly believe there should not be a wine under $10.00 using natural corks.

[tommy]

There's an article about this in the current issue of Food Arts in which someone (I gave my issue away already) says, approximately, "If you're accepting a certain percentage of corked wine for sentimental reasons, would you also accept a certain percentage of leaky condoms?"

that's a ridiculous analogy.

i experience about a 4-5% defect rate. most bottles i drink are btwn 8 and 20 dollars, and generally no more than 4 or 5 years old (with 80% or so being 1 to 3 years old).

i byo quite a bit (not because i'm bringing something unique and special from my cellar, but rather because my area has a lot of restaurants that don't sell wine), and as craig said, i often bring a backup, which is a hassle. although it's not as much of a hassle as when i *don't* bring a backup and i need one.

screwtops are fun.

synthetic corks are fine.

it's all about the wine.

[britcook]

In my experience the proportion is a little higher than 5% and it much higher if you include bottles that are just 'not right'. While there are certainly problems with other faults, the advancements in technology have made these increasingly rare. In particular the wines of large firms almost never have technical faults - other than being boring to drink. Corkyness in wines is the number one problem that I encounter by a long shot. The distant second would be brett (which is a whole different debate!).

I firmly believe there should not be a wine under $10.00 using natural corks.

Just to clarify your word "corkyness". To me a corked wine is one that has the taint of TCA, the smell and taste of dirty wet cardboard, you can't miss it, the wine is undrinkable and does not get better if you let it stand or decant it. My experience of these is definitely rare, less than 1%. Then there is the general off taste, which is sometimes called bottle reek but decanting or exposure to air in the glass and leaving for 5 or 10 minutes will dispel that. It may be "corky", but it isn't "corked", and yes this may take the percentage up to around 5%.

[Craig Camp]

In my experience the proportion is a little higher than 5% and it much higher if you include bottles that are just 'not right'. While there are certainly problems with other faults, the advancements in technology have made these increasingly rare. In particular the wines of large firms almost never have technical faults - other than being boring to drink. Corkyness in wines is the number one problem that I encounter by a long shot. The distant second would be brett (which is a whole different debate!).

I firmly believe there should not be a wine under $10.00 using natural corks.

Just to clarify your word "corkyness". To me a corked wine is one that has the taint of TCA, the smell and taste of dirty wet cardboard, you can't miss it, the wine is undrinkable and does not get better if you let it stand or decant it. My experience of these is definitely rare, less than 1%. Then there is the general off taste, which is sometimes called bottle reek but decanting or exposure to air in the glass and leaving for 5 or 10 minutes will dispel that. It may be "corky", but it isn't "corked", and yes this may take the percentage up to around 5%.

That is exactly my meaning and definition. I am not talking about things that blow off with air. You are a lot luckier than I am.

[bugsy]

i'm in the wine wholesale biz and without doubt there is at least 5% corked

bottles. our average retail sell price is $12/bt and we find that price is not a factor in TCA taint. we tasted various synthetic closures vs. cork at Adelsheim last year and the significant majority prefered the cork. these

were bottles over 2 years after bottling. unfortunate that we did not have a screw cap control. we are having great consumer acceptance to a screw

cap finish on Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc from NZ. the screw cap IS

the future!