The Benefit To Buying Screw Top Over Cork Wines

"Leave them alone, okay?" Thus begins our manifesto, In Defense of Screw-Top Wine. Screw-top caps are tragically associated with lower-quality wines — a hilariously ironic error considering the humble screw-top can actually be one of the most powerful tools for preserving your vino's quality. The reason it's necessary to re-cap wine after opening at all is reducing oxidation. If you've ever sniffed a week-opened bottle only to find glorified vinegar, then you know how dramatically prolonged or excessive oxygen exposure can damage wine.

Cork's naturally porous structure allows for minute levels of oxygen flow, a genius feature for extended storage. Thanks to cork, your age-worthy vintages can breathe during their tenure in the cellar. A little air flow can even help smooth the harsher tannins in deep reds. However, the wine's storage needs to change immediately after opening. Oxygen rushes in, and as such, open bottles fare better under a screw-top's airtight closure.

Screw-top caps are typically made from aluminum and lined with a thin plastic interior. The sides are grooved to fit into grooves dug around the mouth of the bottle, providing a more thorough seal than can be achieved by cork. Screw-top caps are also easy to open (no wine key or corkscrew necessary) and easy to reseal for later consumption – which increases the likelihood that busy hosts will actually reseal their bottles at all while entertaining a room full of guests. No cork to awkwardly try (and fail) to stuff back in.

Screw-top caps also pose zero risk of cork taint, which is what happens when natural cork develops TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole), a compound that forms when mold or bacteria comes into contact with the halophenols in tree bark. The result is a musty, mildewy aromatic profile and taste that render the whole bottle undrinkable. According to the Natural Cork Council via Wine Enthusiast, it detects cork taint in an estimated 3% of the tests it conducts. It can be especially devastating if a collector has shelled out thousands for a bottle. Plus, that screw tap acts as a barrier against bacteria growth, a threat in no short supply in the average household refrigerator.

Perhaps the negative stigma against the screw-top cap lies in the fact that it isn't the best fit for long-storage. Indeed, wines with airtight screw-tops should be enjoyed young rather than stashed, making them a common closure for varietals that aren't typically matured like sweet whites and fruity reds. This also brings up the infamous wine-aficionado elitism surrounding any accessible wine that isn't ultra-funky, bone-dry, or logged with murky sediment. Roughly 90% of New Zealand winemakers finish their bottles (from budget-friendly to premium quality) with screw-top caps, according to Wine Country. For the wine-lover who doesn't want to finish the whole bottle in a single sitting, the reliable, utilitarian screw-top cap is here for you.