The “Third Stream” wine closure
As the pro-cork and the pro-screwtop wine closure camps take turns bashing each other in their respective heads, a third alternative is slowly (and perhaps too slowly) cropping up: the glass closure. The advantages that this kind of seal has over both corks and screwcaps are pretty easy to identify. Glass closures beat cork hands down on “cleanliness”,reliability, convenience, and recyclability issues: no cork taint (”corked” wines), no chance of closure failure issues like crumbly corks breaking upon removal and falling into your wine, NCN (no corkscrew necessary), and the fact that these closures are glass, and can therefore be recycled just like the bottle that actually holds the wine.
Glass closures’ advantages over screwcaps are also multifold. The screwcap’s greatest disadvantage is one of image - for some, screwcaps are and always will be tacky - simply reminiscent of $1.99 bottles of rotgut, or even worse, soda pop. And while glass closures do not carry the history or the romance that corks do, since there is little precedence for these closures, there is no stigma attached to them either. Additionally, the actual “hands on” use of these closures is indeed a little more elegant than the screwcap: there is that capsule to cut and remove, and when the glass stopper itself is removed, there is that little suck of air into the neck. Granted, it’s not the “pop” of a cork (even though “popping” a cork is considered bad etiquette), but it’s a hell of a lot better than the “crack”, “scrape”, and “rattle” of opening a screwcap…
The other elements that might factor into this argument are two. First is the “re-sealability” issue which in my albeit limited experience with glass closures, leaves the new method about as efficient as the “hammer the cork back in the neck with the heel of your hand” process and perhaps a hair better than the protection a tightly screwed-down screwcap will provide. The biggest sticking point with the glass closure is cost. Corks can be more costly if the very finest quality and longest sizes are employed, but at least for right now, glass stoppers are more expensive to produce, though as harvestable cork oaks become more and more scarce, the scales may tip in the other direction later if not sooner.
Synthetic corks lately seem to be losing ground as fast as they gained it about 4 or 5 years ago.Yes they are “clean”, they are not as stigmatized as screwcaps, and are cheaper to produce than either corks or glass closures (not sure about screwcaps - anyone?), but they are an ecological nightmare, so the more environmentally conscious EU regulations have limited these closures, and the many eco-friendly west coast producers have self-regulated, and eschewed their use.
There are always the pros that go with the cons for each of these types of closures - which of these is the least of all evils for you?
TOM CIOCCO
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The history and romance of the traditional cork wins for me, although I will admit that I am intrigued by this new glass development. The “NCN (no corkscrew necessary)” factor I actually see as a loss - I love the ritual of using a waiter’s corkscrew to cut the foil and “lever-out” the cork with the slight pop. Just my 2 cents.
-Nico
Comment by Nico — December 7, 2006 @ 12:59 pm
Nico-
I definitely understand the tradition and “romance” of cork, and I also quite enjoy the ritual of opening a bottle of wine, but the sometimes EXTREME disappointment of opening that special bottle for that special dinner for those special people only to find out that it was corked make you want to curse cork and forswear another cork-enclosed bottle forever…it’s not only a HUGE drag, it can be a fairly substantial financial loss as well…and going forward, we may HAVE to “choose” a newfangled enclosure as cork becomes both more scarce and more expensive.
TOM CIOCCO
Comment by admin — December 7, 2006 @ 1:19 pm
I can live without the history and romance. The most reliable and efficient closure is fine, even if NCN. Is there any reliable research on the only important issue for me: effect on long term aging? I have heard/read some semi-hysterical stuff on the screw cap ruining the aging process by being too good of a closure.
Where’s the Grignolino??
Comment by Russ J — December 7, 2006 @ 10:14 pm
Hey Russ-
I too have heard a bevy of pronouncements, both for and against the screwcap regarding long-term aging. Clearly, I have not done any comprehensive study, but it would stand to reason that the obviously different natures of the two enclosures would have SOME effect on what’s going on in the bottle over time, but just what that is exactly, I’m not sure that ANYBODY is really sure. Further, I think that any wine that is known or crafted to improve with age will continue to use corks, no matter the cost…
As far as the Grignolino is concerned, I will have an even BETTER one than I had previously very soon! - look for this on the site/in the shop in January…It’s called Cascina Castle’t “Cascina del Frate” Grignolino d’Asti 2005.
TOM CIOCCO
Comment by admin — December 8, 2006 @ 10:35 am
I was drinking wine from a screw cap closed wine (Whole Foods 2005 Bordeaux Sauvignon blanc) a month or two ago. We’d pour some then replace the cap. I remember feeling like I was drink from a liquor bottle.
Comment by JimKay — December 8, 2006 @ 9:17 pm
I find the screwcaps to be the most practical solution. Regarding aging, I’m sure a barely permeable plastic could be developed to simulate the proper amount of exchanged air. The glass stopper is interesting, but even with economies of scale won’t come close to the screwtop.
Comment by johnm — December 8, 2006 @ 9:45 pm
Until the cork oak become very scarce, I prefer to open bottles with the traditional(and natural) cork. Tradition is very important when you´re talking about wine. I respect other opinions, but I just can´t agree.
If you only think in low cost and pratical questions, you´ll pack wine on aluminum cans, like beer and soft drinks… it´s very cheap and easy to hold.. but, sorry.. I completely disagree …
Comment by Guilherme Lopes Mair — December 11, 2006 @ 8:55 pm
Guilherme-
Thanks for your comments. MANY people feel the way you do…I however am not necessarily championing any of the three enclosures, just trying to show the pros and cons of each type…I fear though that the the percentage of wines under cork will inexorably decline - I just don’t think there is any choice as prices for cork continues to go up while the available supply diminishes.
TOM CIOCCO
Comment by admin — December 12, 2006 @ 10:27 am
To me, multiple solutions are necessary. That is, I don’t see a one-size-fits-all solution for wine. I will say that I absolutely LOVE opening a bottle of wine that has been sealed with a natural cork. I also understand that cork will get more expensive and therefore become less attractive as the dominant closure that it still is today. I agree with you that the ageability issue may not be that great because most wines that are made to age are not exactly inexpensive to most of us and therefore will be able to afford (as in “pass on”) the increasing cost of natural cork for their closures. Assuming that this is probably correct, we really do need a new, less expensive closure for the vast majority of the wines that are meant to be consumed in their youth and/or are relatively inexpensive. I certainly don’t know what the answer is. I agree that the synthetic corks all pretty much suck environmentally. I have no real problem with the screwcap and the glass closure is interesting, but I have to think that it might be difficult to get its cost down enough to be competitive with the screwcap.
Summarizing, I think (and sincerely hope) that natural cork will continue to be used in classified Bordeauxs and other “premium” wines for the forseeable future. However, the wine industry definitely needs an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, reliable seal for “everyday” wines.
As a postscript, I am sure that vintners could produce premium wines that could age “properly” with something like a screwcap enclosure, given the time and desire to do so. But right now, there are a heck of a lot of ageworthy wines that would take an extremely long time to become truly drinkable if they were sealed with a screwcap instead of a cork.
Comment by JayZee — December 15, 2006 @ 5:26 pm
JayZee-
I think that the multiple solutions option is indeed probably the most realistic. For super premium wines, I don’t think that the cork will ever be supplanted by any other kind of closure, but much like the alternative energy problem (a COMBINATION of wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, etc.) a lone “silver bullet” approach is probably not realistic.
TOM CIOCCO
Comment by admin — December 15, 2006 @ 5:41 pm
Bizarre that all these comments are about a cork or lack thereof. The real issue seems to be the condemnation of a marketing campaign made by a wine conoisseur supposedly (as opposed to one made by a marketing guru or average red wine lover…). As a customer, I saw Layer Cake and my eyes jumped out of my head and my mouth almost started watering with the my hopes of finding one of those magical affordable reds that fufill that full-mouth feel that I have grown to love. I bought a bottle and absolutely loved it, one of the best wines I have ever had, and for under $20, amazing. I grew up, and still live in Marin, which has Napa and Sonoma as neigbors to the north. So I do not suffer from a lack of winetasting experience nor from a lackluster supply of wine choices. I´m not going to say you´re wrong, I´m just going to say I wouldn´t condemn a bottle based on another person´s undoubtedly subjective opinion of a bottle´s label (or book´s cover). Reading your opinion of the wine simply confirms that we don´t think alike, which I´m sure both of us are glad is the case. I am convinced that we disagree wholeheartedly on 2 things: what´s on the outside, and what´s on the inside. I’m planning on picking up a case or 2 of Layer Cake and turning my zin friends on to it.
Let them drink cake.
-Alejandro Moreno,
amateur oenophile
Comment by Alejandro — January 24, 2007 @ 1:26 am
I’m fairly new at the wine game admittedly, but as far as corks go, I prefer the synthetic cork. The natural cork tends to fall apart on me way too easily.
As for cork vs. screwcap, I personally don’t care. The way you open the wine is nowhere near as important as the liquid within the bottle. I have drank perfectly good wines out of both screwcap and corked wines; in fact, the first wine I ever drank was screwcap, and the second was corked. I’ve had corked wines that were bad, but I’ve yet to come across a bad screwcap wine yet.
Comment by Shadowbird — May 8, 2007 @ 4:20 pm