It's all about the wine

As the transition to synthetic closures on wine bottles whether they be the twist cap Stelvin, or any number of synthetic and even glass "corks" continues for many the debate still rages over the implications of a bottle sealed with something other than real cork. We have long felt that the lack of a cork closure does steal some of the ambience of opening a wine bottle but as this evolution continues what we have really found is it all comes down to what is in the bottle not what seals it.

The movement away from natural cork is driven by two factors, one economic and the other stylistic, although the reasons for them might be surprising. The main economic driver is the waste factor. Depending on whose statistics you listen to about 5 percent to 10 percent of bottles sealed with natural cork suffer from cork taint, when this happens the wine is referred to as "corked." It is actually the result of TCA or trichloroanisole being present in the cork itself. When TCA is present and exposed to wine and other elements in the winemaking process it spoils the wine causing the unpleasant aromatic of wet newspaper or wet cardboard, and stripping the wine of its fruit character. There is currently no scientific process to detect the chemical, and once the wine is tainted by the chemical it will never go away and cannot be mitigated. Therefore it is not a reflection on the winemaker or winery but rather just bad luck of getting cork that carries TCA.

When consumers get a bottle of wine that is "corked" they do and should return it to the shop where they purchased it, or send it back when at a restaurant. We then return it to the winery and get our money back as well. So this is a big part of the economics behind moving to closures other than natural cork to save the money of losing up to 10 percent of your product to chance.

The stylistic reasons for using something other than cork is the trend here in the states as winemakers are using less oak on their wines or in some cases (especially with white and rose wine) no oak at all. The choice being that if you are not using any oak in the manufacture of the wine you chose not to introduce any oak flavors through the use of a natural cork. Natural wine corks are made from the bark of a cork oak tree. While there has been some press that this is bad for the environment or that cork oaks are disappearing from the increase in wine consumption, this is largely untrue as most cork is sustainably harvested. The cork oak naturally sheds its bark every seven years. In Portugal where the lion's share of corks come from the trees are treated with great care, and the cork is collected only when this shedding takes place, so the environmental impact is minimal.

When wine is bottled it goes through a mechanical bottling line that fills the bottles, labels them and seals them. When a Stelvin or twist cap closure is used the bottling line injects a small amount of nitrogen into the bottle to fill the gap that would otherwise be taken up by the cork. If a synthetic or plastic cork is used that is unnecessary as the fake cork is about the same size. Of the two choices we prefer the twist cap as we find the plastic corks to be sticky and difficult to remove from the bottle.

One thing is clear to us though. None of the synthetic closures reflect on the caliber of the wine. We have found good and bad wines sealed with all types of devices from real cork to the alternative devices we have talked about. As this transition has progressed we have found some of the favorites to be sealed with things other than cork including twist tops, and these wines have spanned price points from under $10 to more than $75 retail, so it has not been reflective of the desirability of the wine or of the class level of the winery, winemaker, or the shop or restaurant that sells it.

While all of us as wine consumers may miss the romance and ambience of opening a bottle with a real cork in it, what it still comes down to is all about the wine, how it tastes and whether or not we like it. The problems of cork taint and stylistic issues of flavor profiles are driving winemakers to use closures other than those we are used to, ensuring that the wine we drink is unspoiled and hits the mark they are aiming at when crafting the juice and is no longer indicative of quality.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.