Reporting FromThe Unified Grape & Wine Symposium: Screwcap Versus Cork, Is The Debate Already Over?
Filed under: Wine
I've covered the screwcap versus cork debate on this blog a number of times (yes, there are other closures but in the end it really does come down to these main two). In my thoughts on natural cork, I've wondered about cork taint, pondered the implicit romantic nature and the history of the cork and made my peace with the fact that some damn fine wines can come out of a screwcap bottle.
There is one thing I didn't consider which I realized during the Unified Grape & Wine Symposium panel on Closures which is that I might not even be able to recognize cork taint in small percentages and that in some cases it might not be such a big deal. Knowing that 2 to 5% of bottles get hit with a bit of TCA (the stuff that causes the musty, moldiness known as cork taint) averages would indicated that I have opened many tainted bottles. And yet I can only remember a few cases in which I was certain the wine was corked. I think I know what cork taint is but I may actually have no idea at all.
