Yesterday, I attended a seminar and luncheon presented by MHUSA on alternate closures. For those unfamilar with non-alternate closures, they are in a word — cork. As alternatives, the wine industry hs turned to screw caps and crown caps among other products. NB: Crown caps are used for sparkling wines, while screw caps are found on still wines.
Cork has been the method of choice for wine closures for centuries, but recent failure rates (reports of which range from 2-12%) are no longer acceptable. The primary failure in question is that of cork taint, caused by a reaction of the Tri-ChloroAnisole (TCA) bacteria with chlorine/chlorinated-compounds. This negative reaction begins on the surface of the cork and then spreads to the wine itself, rendering it undrinkable and smelling like my wet, moldy basement (or anyone’s wet, moldy basement for that matter).
The discussion took place among a distinguished panel of winemakers hailing from Domaine Chandon (CA) and Greenpoint (Aus) as well as the off-premise (Acker Merrall) and on-premise (Mark Hotel) trade and centered on the changing use of alternate closures in the industry. While many people historically associate screw caps with less expensive wines, their use in fine wines is becoming more prevalent. Notably, 90% of all wine made in New Zealand from the 2006 vintage will be bottled under a screw cap or crown cap. Australia lags behind with a figure of 45%. Of further interest, market figures show a positive acceptance of the alternate closures in Japan, which is among the most traditional markets.
The U.S. consumer has been somewhat slower to demand alternate closures than their Southern hemisphere counterparts, but none of the panel members indicated any real resistance. The technology has evolved dramatically, especially over the last two years, making these closure choices near perfect. They seem to overcome issues of cork taint, oxidation (spoilage by contact with O2) and reduction (off-flavors from a lack of O2). However, they are not without their critics and APCOR (the trade organization representing the cork industry) has recently launched its own campaign to laud the advances made in cork technology to address its (former) failures. The U.S. campaign is fronted by an MS (whose name escapes me at the moment) and Lisa Airey of the Society of Wine Educators. I am confident that this debate will continue throughout this decade.
At the conclusion of the seminar, we had the opportunity to taste through two samples each of five wines (one under cork and the other under screw or crown cap). Since these were young wines (the oldest was 2003), the comparison was less evident, but it did appear that the caps retained the freshness and fruit slightly better than the corks. However, only time will tell.
In the meantime, it is clear that both traditional and alternate closures have their place in the market. The merits of one or the other aside, nothing can substitute for proper storage of your wine in order to preserve their quality. Expose your wine to light, heat and/or vibrations and you will be screwed, regardless of the closure on the bottle!