Skip to content

Wine Corks vs. Caps, Which is Best?

You’ve likely been told not to judge a book by its cover, but how about judging a wine by its closure? Twist off caps have a bad rep in the wine community, but is it deserved? Science says no, not at all. In fact, the screw up closure is likely better all around.

 

wine cork pyramid

Source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/214138459/wine-cork-christmas-tree-cork-christmas?ref=shop_home_active_19

That’s because natural corks, overtime, inevitably allow for some level of wine spoilage in many vintages. This is because, while beautiful, the naturally porous nature of a cork contains trichloroanisole, commonly known as TCA, which can taint the wine.

Synthetic corks aren’t much better, as they’re often difficult to extract with a corkscrew and next to impossible to replace in the instance a bottle in not consumed in one sitting.

And the old urban legend that a cork allows a wine to intensify its bouquet overtime due to oxygen circulation? Science says that, too, is just an urban legend. Even if it were true, screw caps of today can be made with increased levels of oxygen ingress, allowing for oxygen circulation over time.

This isn’t to say corks are antiquated and pointless. They still have their qualities that can’t be duplicated. Namely their historical impact and the emotion that “popping a cork” brings with it.

At the end of the day, don’t judge that wine by her screw top cap. You could be missing out on something great!

Recent Posts

No comment yet, add your voice below!


Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *