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Wine lovers have argued over whether the quality of wine is affected by the use of screw tops on bottles. For the longest time, the question on everyone’s lips has been: “Which produces the best wine: a corked bottle, or a screw top?” Researchers have hoped to provide a definitive answer to these questions.
Plumpjack Group teamed up with university researchers from University of California, Davis in conducting the investigation. Plumpjack Group owns the Plumpjack Winery and CADE Wines, which are both located in the Napa Valley and the wineries use both corks and screw tops.
Plumpjack Group teamed up with university researchers from University of California, Davis in conducting the investigation. Plumpjack Group owns the Plumpjack Winery and CADE Wines, which are both located in the Napa Valley and the wineries use both corks and screw tops.
As part of the scientific study, 600 bottle closures were tested. The materials being tested included natural cork, synthetic cork, and screw caps/tops. Bottle closures are designed to ensure that no oxygen enters the wine. If this happens, it is known to be detrimental to the quality, color, and taste of the vintage. Andrew Waterhouse, a Professor of Viticulture and Enology at UCD, mentions that oxygen is the biggest culprit for wine defects as it affects taste, color, and the ageing process.
Annegret Cantu was the lead UC Davis researcher on the study, which included a blind tasting of Sauvignon Blanc by 11 panelists who were mostly unable to discern which wines were which. The findings, presented before the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, did show some differences among the wines closed with cork, synthetic cork and screw caps. Among the differences noted by the study was in browning of the white wine. But, “overall, there was no difference by closure,” Cantu says.
Annegret Cantu was the lead UC Davis researcher on the study, which included a blind tasting of Sauvignon Blanc by 11 panelists who were mostly unable to discern which wines were which. The findings, presented before the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, did show some differences among the wines closed with cork, synthetic cork and screw caps. Among the differences noted by the study was in browning of the white wine. But, “overall, there was no difference by closure,” Cantu says.
Those in favor of using screw caps on bottles believe this is a better option because it makes the wine less susceptible to oxidation. Bottles are convenient to open while enjoying the great outdoors, making them the perfect accompaniment to summer picnics and barbecues. What’s more is that the renewable screw cap eliminates any risk of cork tainting the wine.
We should point out however that traditionalists naturally feel that some of a wine’s “mystique” and romance is being taken away by the use of synthetic cork alternatives and screw caps. Somehow they feel that opening a bottle of wine will never be the same.
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