| Cork has been the traditional seal of choice for | | | | New Zealand, one of largest the wine-producing |
| vintners and kosher wine bottlers over 400 years | | | | countries in the world, has led the way with an |
| of wine-making. Recently though, some vintners | | | | alternative to the alternative: the screw cap. The |
| have made the switch from cork to screw top. | | | | caps resemble the same ones used for sodas and |
| Cork forms irregularly just as all natural materials | | | | other carbonated beverages complete with |
| do, and thus can produce irregular quality in the | | | | break-away safety ring to ensure freshness and |
| wine it bottles. Corks also require special | | | | security. |
| equipment (a corkscrew) and can dry out and | | | | The pioneering caps were originally developed in |
| break apart into the bottle leaving bits in the wine. | | | | the 1970s for discount wines, which may be part |
| But the primary reason for the shift is that cork | | | | of why a stigma still surrounds the use of screw |
| is that it leaves a bad taste in peoples' | | | | tops. Many view the screw caps as industrial, |
| mouths--literally. The chemical 2, 4, 6 | | | | aesthetically unpleasing, and cheap. Screw caps |
| trichloroanisole (also known as TCA) is a | | | | also have none of the flair and romance of corks, |
| compound that forms when chlorine reacts with | | | | which use Old World technology and add some |
| mold already present in the cork and forms | | | | ceremony to wine enjoyment. |
| what's called "cork taint," detectable to human | | | | Some conservative French wineries refuse to use |
| taste buds even at six parts per trillion. Cork taint | | | | screw caps outright, both as a matter of |
| leaves wine with a dull and musty taste and may | | | | aesthetic but also because many of the wines |
| affect anywhere from 10 - 20% of all bottles | | | | that mature in French cellars require very slow |
| sold. | | | | oxygenation. Spain has gone further and passed a |
| Harvesting the cork itself is an environmentally | | | | law requiring wineries in the country's top eleven |
| friendly process that does not permanently | | | | wine producing regions to seal with cork instead |
| damage the tree, but with disease and rapidly | | | | of screw cap, outlawing screw caps and other |
| disappearing cork forests, new cork trees have | | | | synthetic closures outright. |
| not been replanted fast enough to replenish supply | | | | The good news is that screw tops don't seem to |
| that meets demand. As a result, quality cork | | | | impact the delicious flavor of such kosher wines |
| wood is difficult to find. With fewer cork trees | | | | as Herzog wine, Bartenura moscato, or other |
| available, wine bottlers are forced to turn to less | | | | moscato wines. In fact, some say that the |
| desirable sources of cork, which may have been | | | | mechanically-tightened cap does a better job of |
| stored in ways that are not suitable for wine. | | | | preventing air from reacting with the wine and |
| Another alternative is synthetic cork made from | | | | that the flavor is even enhanced by screw caps. |
| plastic-based substitutes. However, some critics | | | | So drink up and l'chaim, whether from cork or |
| say that this leaves an even greater tainted taste | | | | cap! |
| in the wine, this time more like plastic than mold. | | | | |