Real Cork
Cork is a natural substance that has been used for thousands of years by multiple ancient civilizations. We now associate it mostly with wine stoppers, but I didn’t know how that usage came to be until I did some research.
“The most significant development occurred in the 1600s, when Dom Perignon, developed his methode champenoise. The wooden stoppers used to store still wines had considerable disadvantages when applied to sparkling wine. Dom Perignon successfully adopted cork stoppers and soon cork became essential for wine bottling.”[1]
Way to go, Dom!
Natural cork has its benefits. We know that it has good results with long term aging. It allows a very small amount of oxygen to slowly enter the bottle over the course of several years, helping harsher wines, with lots of tannins, to soften and become more easily palatable and interesting. Too much oxygen will ruin a wine, and quick. Think of it like The Three Bears scenario: too much is bad, but too little is bad – it has to be just right. It’s also a somewhat renewable natural resource. “Cork continues to re-grow after the bark has been harvested. However, it needs time, so the cork bark is only harvested once, every 9 years or so.”[2]
People also seem to love wine with real cork in it. It feels more authentic and traditional, and hints at better quality.
I found results to a study done at Oxford University that supports this argument. They found that wine tasted better to the participants if it had a cork, because they believed and expected it to be better, as opposed to a screwcap. The study tested 140 people that tried two similar wines back to back, one with a cork, and one with a screwcap. They then sampled the same wines again, without realizing it, except the tops were switched. Each time, they were asked which one tasted better. 113 of those people chose the wine with the cork, each time, even though the wines had been switched on the second round.[3]
The Professor who performed the study explained that “our senses are intrinsically linked – what we hear, see and feel has a huge effect on what we taste.”[4] This just goes to show that no matter the truth behind the wine closure, many people want a cork in their wine, because it enhances the experience.
I have to admit, upon first reaction, I like a real cork too, especially on an old bottle, when there’s a bit of fungus growing on top. It reminds me that the bottle has a history, and a story, and it feels real. I have to correct my reaction that seeing a synthetic or screwcap top on the bottle doesn’t imply the quality is less. Real cork just plays into the fanciness, and the classy feeling that uncorking a wine gives. It’s part of a ritual, if you will, when one wants to really enjoy a wine.
So if cork works, and people love it, why would anyone not use cork?
That’s where TCA steps in. Dun dun dun…play the scary music.
TCA stands for Trichloroanisole, and basically, it’s a compound that forms in natural cork, and ends up getting transferred into wine, through that cork. Terms such as “cork taint,” or a wine being “corked,” are referring to TCA. If you’ve ever had the opportunity of smelling a wine that’s been affected with cork taint, it’s really bad! The smell reminds me of an old church garage sale, or my grandmother’s basement storage room, that’s had a little bit of water in there over the years, hasn’t been dusted or cleaned out, and is probably growing mould. As you can guess, it has a similar, unpleasant taste, too.
TCA’s not going to kill you, and as far as we know, it wouldn’t even make you sick – if you could still stomach the wine. What’s likely to make you sick, however, is how your beautiful, expensive bottle of wine you’ve been anticipating is now effectively ruined.
You can find countless different statistics all over the internet on the percentages of wines that have been ruined by cork taint. There was a big surge of it in the 1990s, that got people looking for other methods to close their wines. On one of the wine tours we attended, the guide explained that they had switched to screw caps during that time, because they were finding that up to 10% of their wines were tainted. Other statistics claim it was as low as 1-2%, and I’ve heard up to 20%. There really isn’t an extremely accurate way of tracking this, and it differs from region to region. A certain batch of cork could have been tainted, or it could have been a poor winery practice that caused the taint in the wine.
The numbers have significantly dropped now, as the cork industry got on top of the issue. “Quality procedures have been overhauled, starting in the cork forests” with procedures to prevent the mould from getting into the cork itself. The storage has been improved with “new factories close to the forests…the bark is stored only on concrete or stainless steel, never touching bare earth.” The cork is also “rejected if [it shows] the slightest hint of a greenish stain,” and the bark is turned into corks by hand, “ensuring that the corks are taken from the best part of the bark.” Nothing is wasted, and all the unused material is recycled.[5] From the sites I referenced in this article, it seems to be that the percentages of cork taint have dropped significantly; the wine buyer at my favourite liquor store says that they hardly ever have returns anymore for this issue, and in all of the wines I’ve bought from them, and had in their tasting room, I’ve only ever seen one corked one.
Synthetic Cork
An alternative to real cork, is synthetic cork. With this, there is no risk of TCA. Synthetic cork can also be way more affordable for producers who are making inexpensive wines, meant for immediate consumption. We don’t see super cheap wines in Canada very often, but if you’ve travelled Europe, you know that you can get some wines for less than $5. Robert Joseph of Decanter makes an excellent point for why these types of producers may choose synthetic cork. “When you are earning €3 a bottle, it makes no sense to spend a sixth of that sum on a top-quality cork.”[6]
It may be more consistent, and cheaper than real cork, but it’s also plastic, and not natural. Jeff Leve explains that “the problems with synthetic corks is the lack of a perfect seal. In turn that allows more unwanted air into the bottle, causing the wine to oxidize. Worse, many of the synthetic corks have been known to impart a slight rubber or chemical smell, damaging the wine.” [7] I’ve heard several of my wine industry friends complain of this happening; they say that if they’ve aged a wine on its side, and the synthetic cork is touching the wine, it can taste like plastic, so they always store their synthetically corked wines upright. As for the lack of perfect seal, Jeff explains that some wine makers prefer this, if it can age their wines more quickly, to be consumed sooner. He says there are also many companies now that are coming out with synthetic cork that lets in a more controlled amount of oxygen.[8] There has also not been proof of how well it holds up for long term aging.
Screwcaps
The good old screwcap is another manufactured wine closure that is more cost effective, and less environmentally friendly, than real cork. It also eliminates the risk for TCA, or plastic tasting wine; however, as you read above in the Oxford study, it’s associated with cheap wine. Australia has put significant research into screwcap closures, as an article in the Sydney Morning Herald explains.
“The winemakers worked with the Australian Wine Research Institute, which over a 24 month period conducted trials that tested nine different closure methods (including natural cork, synthetic cork, technical cork and screwcaps. After nine months under screwcap, each bottle of the same wine tasted the same… but the same wine under eight different cork closures all varied in taste.”[9]
I like some good research to back any fact, and I am impressed that there has been significant testing done on this issue. Taylors Wines was the first winery to bottle every wine they make with a screwcap closure, in 2004, even though they risked what people’s opinions of the quality would be. Now, 98% to 99% of Australian wines are bottled under screwcaps.[10]
Unfortunately, using a screwcap doesn’t guarantee a perfect seal. There are some screwcaps that have been designed to allow slow amounts of oxygen into the wine, so that it can get some aging benefits, but it’s very possible that when the cap is getting attached to the bottle, it might not seal correctly. I’ve had this happen to me before, (once) and had to send wine back to a winery because of it. A wine expert taught me a good way to test this; when you’re buying a screwcap bottle, gently try and twist the closure under the lid, to see if it will rotate around the neck. If it’s stuck to the neck and doesn’t rotate, you’re good. If it does rotate, the bottle has not been sealed properly, and you could find that it’s been oxidized.
New Zealand launched their initiative to use screwcaps on even their top quality wines in 2001. The initiative aims to “encourage and facilitate the use of screwcap wine seals by New Zealand wineries,”[11] and basically also to research them and make them super awesome! Excellent! You go, New Zealand! Maybe they’ll find a solution to ensure even more bottles are sealed tightly. They do believe that screwcaps can be guaranteed to age well for considerable time, which is another plus for them; I’ve heard up to 10 years or more. The founders of the initiative believe that cork taint is a considerable problem, and should no longer be tolerated, and seeks to find new and better ways.
It seems to me that our opinions of quality, based on a judgement we make on seeing the wine’s closure, may be preventing us from enjoying actual quality in some wines.
Didn’t anyone tell us not to judge a book by its cover? In my opinion, those who judge all wines by their screwcap ‘cover,’ are missing out on some of the best wine ‘stories’ out there. For example, I continue to buy Australian wine, even though it’s closed with a screwcap, because one of my favourite wines of all time is Penfolds – screwcap tops, amazing quality.
Let’s not be so hasty in our judgements anymore, wine drinkers! Have you had a poor quality wine with a screwcap? Yeah. Have you had a poor quality wine with a synthetic cork? Yes. How about with real, natural cork in it? Uh huh – me too. I’ve also had great bottles with all three closures. There’s so much more to what’s in the bottle, than what’s on top of the bottle.
There are no guarantees that every single bottle coming out of production is going to be perfect when it’s opened, no matter the type of seal. There is always that small risk that it’s going to be corked, or oxidized. That’s why in a restaurant, when you order a bottle, they allow you to taste it before it’s served; you’re checking that the quality is acceptable. Luckily, most wine stores and producers understand that a percentage of damaged wine is part of the process, and I’ve never had anyone refuse to refund or replace my corked or oxidized bottles.
In the end, wine producers need to weigh their options and determine what’s going to suit them best. As a buyer, knowledge is power. It’s good to be aware of the pros and cons of each wine closure, and to eliminate misconceptions as much as possible. When you’re purchasing a wine, and you’re looking at the closure, think about what that wine’s purpose is going to be for you. Keep an open mind. Who knows, maybe in a few decades, the sound of a screwcap seal breaking will have a friendlier association… we can hope!
Happy wine-ing!
Special thanks to Chad for asking me to write this article, which required the most research I’ve done since being in University… I guess we do learn to cite things for an applicable life reason. 😉
[1] Unknown. “History of Cork Usage.” http://www.corkqc.com/pages/history-of-cork-usage.
[2] Leve, Jeff. “Wine Corks Everything You Need to Know About Wine Corks.” https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-education-articles/wine-corks-everything-need-know-wine-corks/.
[3] Yorke, Harry. “The Great Wine Debate; Corks really are better than screw-tops, Oxford study finds.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/27/great-wine-debate-corks-really-better-screw-tops-oxford-study/. (September, 2017).
[4] Yorke, Harry. “The Great Wine Debate; Corks really are better than screw-tops, Oxford study finds.”
[5] Bird, David. “How the Cork Industry is Fighting Back.” https://www.decanter.com/features/which-cork-is-best-246798/
[6] Joseph, Robert. “Which Cork Is Best?” https://www.decanter.com/features/which-cork-is-best-246798/ (January, 2009).
[7] Leve, Jeff. “Wine Corks Everything You Need to Know About Wine Corks.” https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-topics/wine-education-articles/wine-corks-everything-need-know-wine-corks/.
[8] Leve, Jeff. “Wine Corks Everything You Need to Know About Wine Corks.”
[9] Bliszczyk, Aleksandra. “Australia’s wine screwcap revolution.” https://www.smh.com/au/business/australias-wine-screwcap-revolution-20170628-gx0e3l.html (June, 2017)
[10] Bliszczyk, Aleksandra. “Australia’s wine screwcap revolution.”
Cherished Life by Chelsea 