Is cork better than screwcap?

Whether it’s learning the names of new MasterChef judges or finally committing to that mullet (you look great, by the way), change is natural, constant and unavoidable. In the world of wine, one of the biggest changes of the past 30 years has been the introduction of the screwcap and its schoolyard rivalry with cork. On reflection, it’s got us all Jerry Seinfeld: What’s the deal with cork and screwcap, anyway?

If you’re young enough, you may have never even encountered a cork in the wild – in Australia, screwcap closures top as much as 99% of wine, with the big shift taking place around the early 2000s. Despite our domestic love affair with the twisty top, plenty of traditional wine-producing countries are still attached to their corks. It means that, like it or not, at some point we’ll face a choice between the old-school classic and the newer kid on the block. 

While we’re not here to say anyone is right or wrong, we are keen to dispel some myths and let you make your own decisions. First, though, some context…

While there are plenty of reasons to debate the merits of both closures these days, the biggest one is something called ‘cork taint’. From the 1980s, a chemical compound called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) made a lot of wine under (mostly low quality) cork pretty awful to drink, introducing off aromas and flavours that ruined the bottle – we’re talking about characters like wet dog and musty cardboard.  

Tired of the cork-taint lottery, Australian producers like Grosset and Moss Wood made the switch to screwcaps around the turn of the century – a band of Clare Valley producers led the charge. While cork quality has definitely since improved, there’s still enough variability that some experts (like wine critic Lisa Perrotti-Brown) still find cork taint a regular problem. Regardless, cork doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in a hurry, especially when it comes to traditional wine-producing countries.

Ageing 

Cork is slightly permeable, meaning a little bit of air gets in over time – one aspect of the, frankly, very complex process of wine ageing (check out our ageing guide for more info). On the other hand, screwcaps have been regarded (and in cork-loving circles, derided) for keeping air out. 

By this logic, wine under cork should age, while wine under a screwcap should stay the same, right? Well, it’s not necessarily true that screwcapped wine won’t let air in and, regardless, these wines still tend to age well; the past 20-plus years of solid use have proven that wines can develop beautifully under this seal. In fact, assuming a high-quality cork and screwcap, both should be fine seals for long-term wine storage.

If anything will sway you, it’s the fact that corks can deteriorate over time if not cared for properly as they can dry out and let in too much oxygen (Jancis Robinson says to store wine with a cork on an angle so the wine stays in contact with the cork, FYI). This is not a negative, as such, but worth keeping in mind.

Sustainability

Statistically, we all think a little about how our buying habits affect the environment – wine included. Here, both cork and screwcap have their own pros and cons, making it kind of hard to say one is better than the other for the environment.

On the face of it, cork would seem problematic as it comes from a finite natural resource, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Unlike, say, the monoculture of pine plantations, cork is harvested from ancient, natural forests that support a unique slice of biodiversity, while the cork oak itself is quite tolerant of having its bark stripped, growing it back in around five years. And, once out of the bottle, corks can be recycled with the help of local council initiatives and some specialist collection centres.

Screwcaps are made from aluminium, which makes them easier to recycle than corks since we can just chuck them in the correct bin. Aluminium, though, is very energy-intensive to produce, so consider that a strike against.

Convenience

Consider this scenario: you’ve taken a lovely bottle of wine to a special occasion, only to realise it’s got a cork and your waiter’s friend is nowhere to be seen. Maybe you open it with nothing more than a shoe and a brick wall or, tragically, the wine remains trapped in its glass prison. Either way, it doesn’t spell convenience.

On this point, a screwcap has the edge. Screwcaps are also easily resealable (although you can jam a cork back in the bottle), which is handy.

Romance

Don’t make that face – romance has more than a small part to play in the wine experience. In fact, research suggests that everything from ambient music and lighting to a bottle’s weight and (you guessed it) even its closure can affect our appreciation and enjoyment of wine. 

For many of us, there’s romance in uncorking a wine that can heighten the experience, regardless of the quality of the wine itself. There’s a connection to history, the tactile pleasure of coaxing the cork clear and a sound – pop! – that can add real pleasure to the experience.

All of this is to say that for all the tasting scores and wine show trophies, wine is always subjective. So, for those clinging to the romance of the old wine cork – we hear you.

In Australia, at least, the screwcap has quickly become the common closure for all wines, from cleanskins to Clonakilla. For many parts of the rest of the wine-producing world, though, cork still wears the crown. 

All this means for us wine drinkers is that sometimes we’ll be faced with a choice between two similar wines with different closures, and we might weigh convenience against romance, or the sustainability of cork against the chance of cork taint. Or maybe your dad will say something like ‘You can’t age wine with a screwcap’ and you can raise an index finger and interject with a ‘Well, actually…’.

In the end, the choice is really up to you. Just remember to keep a corkscrew on hand, okay?