To Cork or Not to Cork

You’re having a party. You’ve chosen the food and now you are about to embark on what wine to have with your food. You make your way to the LCBO, cruise the shelves in search for that perfect wine. And then, there it is the ideal match. You pick it up to check on the vintage year. Ah yes, it is a good year. But then… arghhhh…… you clutch your hand to your bosom when you are suddenly taken aback by what seems to be a sacrilegious affront to your wine bottle. No, no how can this be happening. This is not a cheap wine. What the heck is going on? Okay you say to yourself, where is the hidden camera that is capturing my ghastly image as I look dismayed at my find. This is definitely a candid camera moment.

As you look around for the hidden camera, you believe you have spotted it! You make a gesture, a nod of your head as if to acknowledge its existence. And then the clerk notices you and asks “Can I help you”? “Oh no” you say, waiting for the clerk to identify himself with the famous line “Smile you’re on Candid Camera”. You wait and you wait…. again the clerk says “Can I help you” feeling slightly confused himself. You then realize that no, this is not a gag as you quickly glance to your left and then to your right to see if anyone has noticed your peculiar behaviour. You feel your face flush and you hope that the clerk hasn’t noticed. You play it cool. You ask the clerk about the appendage that is atop your bottle of wine. The closure is not the normal cork inside the bottle. It is, oh no, dare I say……It’s a screwcap! There must be some mistake you say. The clerk assures you that it is no mistake. “This is the new closure that is being used by many of the world’s producers”.

The screwcap or ROPP closure (roll on pilfer proof) as it is known by its official name, is no longer the domaine of the inexpensive wines that we drank in our youth because we didn’t know how to work corkscrews. It is now a mainstay of many wines. You ask why did they do this? Corks were working very well thank you very much. If you look back at history about this thing called cork you will discover that more and more the screwcap really does have its place on our wine store shelves.

Corks are made from cork oak trees that grow in Mediterranean climates such as Portugal and Spain. At one point there was a concern that the bark of cork trees was being stripped at a far greater rate than the trees could be replanted. The cork serves a couple of purposes. The first is the obvious, to be a closure for the wine bottle. The second and most important reason is to aid in the aging of wine. So why switch when it works.

Most wines on the LCBO general list shelves (not Vintages) are produced to be consumed immediately. They are not made for longevity. The wines are made in such a fashion, by speeding up the filtering process mechanically you don’t have to lay them down for years before they are ready to drink. So from this point of view you can see why it is not necessary for these wines to have cork closures. They are at their peak and therefore it is unnecessary to strip the cork tree of its bark. A screwcap seems more appropriate.

Another reason for using screwcaps is that winemakers estimate that they lose approximately 10% of sales to people not re-purchasing their wines due to cork taint. Before cork can be put into a bottle it must be treated. During this process the corks are sterilized to meet certain standards. When this does not happen you may have experienced a corky smell and / or taste in your wine. This is known as TCA or Trichloranisole. There are varying degrees of cork taint. Sometimes it is very obvious and sometimes not. Sometimes a wine that you have always enjoyed suddenly does not seem to have the same great flavour as before. It’s less fruity or has less zip. This is also another form of TCA. Again most people will not re-purchase a wine when they feel it is not up to its usual standards when in actuality it is a corked wine. By using screwcaps, which is metal and inert the percentage of a wine being “Off” is lessened immensely.

You may have noticed that some of the major producers of the world are leading the way in this.

As I say cork is to help in the aging process of a wine. We have seen white wine age for 10 years with the ROPP closure thus far, but the school of traditionalists is still out as far as long term cellaring of both white and red wines. Initially I was a little skeptical at the thought of screwcap closures but I must tell you that I have definitely come around, especially now in our day of trees being misused and abused.

I know it is not as romantic when you are in a restaurant and the server presents you with the bottle you ordered and instead of the whoosh of a cork being removed you hear the crackle of tin being twisted open. It’s all about the show isn’t it? So how can we make the screwcap romantic? Mmmm… how about if servers are trained in the oldest profession. No, no not that one the other one. Magic! How about if they do a little David Copperfield, the old few quick gestures with their hands, abracadabra and voila what’s that they have pulled from behind your ear? Why it’s a screwcap!! It’s all about the presentation. Now how’s that for a show!

Lesson learned….Don’t dismiss a bottle of wine because of its stopper!

If you would like more information on having a tutored tasting conducted at your home or office please contact me at CrrgnJacq@aol.com.