Corks vs. screwtop bottles

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This is probably a real rookie question, but here goes:

I've been reading lately that the best wines are now bottled without corks, but with screw-tops. I was just wondering what all you pros think of this?
 
I think until I can afford to buy a fancy screw cap attaching machine, I'll keep using corks. I plan on drinking my wines before 5 years anyway.
I've even seen the Zork being used at the winery I helped out at. Those are pretty nice because you can pop it back on a bottle without any trouble to save an unfinished wine.
 
Well, I've never seen a Burgundy or Bordeaux with a screw cap.
 
I've been reading lately that the best wines are now bottled without corks, but with screw-tops. I was just wondering what all you pros think of this?
It depends...

1. are you planning to use screw cap bottles for your own wine? (After all, this is posted in a wine making forum.) if so, bad idea. there are no reasonably priced machines (that I am aware of) for properly applying a new screw cap. Some people re-use the original commercial screw cap, but I don't think they can be re-used very often.

2. are you asking about the wine in the liquor stores? to me, the closure doesn't make a difference to the quality of the wine. Of course, when I buy commercial wine, I try to buy wine in cork finish bottles, so that I can re-use them.

Steve
 
I agree with Wade there's just something about uncorking a bottle of wine that sets the mood that a screw top would not do.:hug
 
I like corks, and I use them because it's easier to reuse bottles. As far as romance goes, nothing can spoil it like a cork tainted bottle of wine. Yeck!
 
It depends...

1. are you planning to use screw cap bottles for your own wine? (After all, this is posted in a wine making forum.) if so, bad idea. there are no reasonably priced machines (that I am aware of) for properly applying a new screw cap. Some people re-use the original commercial screw cap, but I don't think they can be re-used very often.

2. are you asking about the wine in the liquor stores? to me, the closure doesn't make a difference to the quality of the wine. Of course, when I buy commercial wine, I try to buy wine in cork finish bottles, so that I can re-use them.

Steve

My local supplier has screw caps like these:
http://www.eckraus.com/CL215.html

I'm a little skeptical though.
 
I like corks. It's been working well for winemakers for ages...

But I do admit that screw top wine just leaves me thinking "wow... classy"... *giggles*

I'd rather hear a cork thud than the turn of a cap (which gives me an icky chill like the sound of a back cracking)

I do know some people who use the black screw caps for their bottles though... Just not my thing.
 
My local supplier has screw caps like these:
http://www.eckraus.com/CL215.html

I'm a little skeptical though.

Polyseal caps are great caps. But they don't fit the majority of the commercial screw cap bottles. Believe me I've tried. Many many times.

They will fit the screw cap bottles sold by Home Brew shops, and some of the flavouring bottles used in coffee shops.

Steve
 
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Someone does a study on screw caps and the results are the screw caps are better. Now what do the collectors do with the 50 year old wine in their cellars. I would like to see a study done on a dark red wine. A cork just hits your heart in the right place.
Jim
 
Australia and New Zealand are leading the way to screw tops. One sees a majority of their newer wines in screw tops.

Personally, for my own wines I do only corked bottles, but it doesn't have any bearing on what commercial wines I buy.

There is a whole lot of romance wrapped up in our love of wine and wine making. It's more than just the drinking, it's in every aspect of it. For me the cork is a big part of that relationship. That little pop the cork makes when it is removed, well, it sort of makes me smile inside.

One day there may not be anymore corked wine bottles. When that happens I'll deal with it, but for now...
 
I am bottling with 1.5 liter screw cap bottles and reusing the caps. But at some point I will need new screw caps. I understand the 28MM caps are for 750ml bottles and the 38MM caps are for 1/2 gallon and 1 gallon bottles. I only see one supplier selling a 30MM cap but I'm not sure if this is the correct size. Anyone know for certain? I guess I can get out a MM measuring stick and see what the cap measures.

Larry
 
I am bottling with 1.5 liter screw cap bottles and reusing the caps. But at some point I will need new screw caps. I understand the 28MM caps are for 750ml bottles and the 38MM caps are for 1/2 gallon and 1 gallon bottles. I only see one supplier selling a 30MM cap but I'm not sure if this is the correct size. Anyone know for certain? I guess I can get out a MM measuring stick and see what the cap measures.

Larry

I believe the 28mm caps should fir the 1.5 liter bottles. It did on the few I tried. I'm only using the screwcaps for excess that doesn't fill a bottle and will be using for the skeeter pee.
 
Larry:

Get a couple each of the various caps before investing heavily. Since bottles are different, you will then know what works on YOUR bottles.

I just tried a 28mm polyseal cap on a 1.5 litre Wild Vines bottle. It ALMOST fits. Almost isn't good enough.

Steve
 
Larry:

Get a couple each of the various caps before investing heavily. Since bottles are different, you will then know what works on YOUR bottles.

I just tried a 28mm polyseal cap on a 1.5 litre Wild Vines bottle. It ALMOST fits. Almost isn't good enough.

Steve

Good advice. I bought a couple of different caps and they didn't fit any of my screwtop bottles. The threads just don't match up.
 
Good advice. I bought a couple of different caps and they didn't fit any of my screwtop bottles. The threads just don't match up.
Yeah I know. I keep telling people that home brew shop caps don't fit commercial screw cap bottles. But these q's keep coming up.

When I ran an FoP, I told people to bring the bottles in and we'd try a test fit. I wish I'd thought to sell 'em a 'sampler' pack for a buck.

Steve
 
Australia and New Zealand are leading the way to screw tops. One sees a majority of their newer wines in screw tops.

There is an interesting article on this very topic in the latest issue of Discover magazine. Apparently cork can carry a chemical or bacteria (I'm old and I forgot which already) that can ruin wine. The wine producers complained to the cork producers, who did nothing, and it opened the door for the plastic corks that you see so often now.

Americans think screw-tops mean cheap wine, but in Australia it's all the rage. I guess it doesn't matter much which you use as long as you have a good seal, but once you open the bottle you only have 24 hours to drink it because even if you put the screw top back on after drinking half you have way too much oxygen in the bottle for it to last.

I personally like cork corks. They impart some minor flavor in the wine, and you can smell a cork after you open the bottle but plastic corks or metal screw tops just smell like plastic or metal. Small things.....
 
corks CAN contain "cork taint." might be another term, but regardless it WAS a bigger problem than it is now. many cork producers have scaled back their chemicals and work hard to avoid having a bad cork. many of them use lots of high tech equipment including an scanning machine to check for defects. they are sorted by hand too.

screw caps are good for fruit and low age type wines. most wine producers that use screw caps or synthetic corks, bulk age the wine some to age it first and is pretty much ready for consumption when it hits the shelf. a large majority of people buy their wine the day they drink it.

IMO, corks are better, but from reading, there's more wine consumed than corks made.

furthermore, corks way of breathing is actually around the sides of the cork. with any temp changes, the cork will go in and out of the bottle some, imparting air. this is caused by pressure changes when temps fluctuate. the cork slides some to releave pressure. this is why you get legs of wine that come up the sides of older corks. from a documentary on them, a good cork will last between 15-18 yrs. they recommend for longer aging, uncorking, adding gas and then putting in a new cork.

a screw cap loses almost all the 02 in it in the first 3 months. meaning there is very little aging after that.

that said, we use some screw caps and mainly corks. i put them on by hand. i have a good grip and some have had trouble getting them off :p
 
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