Actually, that isn't entirely true. There are good many Argentinian wines and Aussie wines with screw caps these days. Even my local grocery store has some in selection. It is true that they are "looked down upon" and even I found myself succumb to a bit of cork snobbery at first. However, I have come to accept and really like the screw cap. There are a couple good malbecs that I get with screw caps and they are highly convenient. I do still feel that uncorking is a bit more "authentic" but I have never had any issues with a screw cap wine so far. As a matter of fact, my daily drinker is a malbec called Tilia from Mendoza Argentina. It is a great little wine and sub $10 US so it is excellent for a glass here or there. All screw caps.
As a matter of fact, I am keeping these bottles because they have screw caps. My plan is that I will make about 5 screw cap bottles out of the 30 (since I only saved 5) and that way I can easily "uncork" it to taste or test at a later date while the rest age with their traditional corks. Probably open one a month to see how it is going.
We are in full agreement here. I am not a hater of screw caps.
All I was saying was that, in this country, about 30 to 40 years ago, only the cheapest domestic wines came with screw caps. Today, this public perception still exists. I have to admit that there was a time that I wondered "if this wine is so good, then why couldn't the winery take the time and expense of a closing with a real cork?".
The us market happily worked this way for decades, then came TCA (cork taint)...
Wineries, looking for a way to protect their inventory (and profits) from cork taint started to explore alternate closures. Some wineries chose synthetic corks, but these have their own problems and (for many) was not a viable replacement for the real thing. Other wineries went with screw caps (especially in Australia/Argentina where corks were already very expensive due to shipping costs and their domestic wine industries were just gearing up).
In short, for areas like Australia and Argentina, the choice to go with screw caps was not solely due to cost saving measures. It was mostly motivated by the need to protect their quality wines against cork taint.
So, today, one should never judge a wine by its screw cap.
Still, in the US, the public perception persists.
My choice in closure is natural corks that are certified as TCA free. This is because natural cork will age a wine as opposed to screw caps. I also do this more out of the European tradition that I was raised with.
Finally, I use corks for the romance. Let me paint a picture....
You have a fire going. You tied the kids up and threw them into the trunk of your car (just for a while), you put on some smooth jazz, put out a platter of fine cheeses and smokey meats, and you have your best gal with you (who stares at you in awe while thinking "I never knew he could be so romantic, he may very well get lucky tonight).
Then you go to open the wine.. Lets explore two possible options here..
Option A: A POP from a natural cork announces "something good this way comes". You pour two glasses and within 2 sips the fireworks are going off...
Option B: A crackle of a screw cap and she thinks.. "Why that cheap bastard!" She backs off, the smooth jazz station goes to a commercial about anal warts, the kids escape from the trunk and are demanding dinner, and your gal starts to cry and goes to live with her mother. All because you opted for a screw cap.
(I sure hope the above did not offend anybody)