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Introduction

For centuries, the cork has been “the” way wine bottles were sealed.  The sound of the cork popping out of the bottle became a time honored tradition and usually represented the beginning of the festivities.  Whether you were spending the evening with that special someone, or with good friends, the sound of that “pop” was akin to the starters pistol at a track meet.

Recently, however, as winemakers around the world have continued to hone their craft, they began to investigate the impact corks have on wine.  Why?  Well, to a certain extent, the growing, making and storing of wine in barrels has been all but perfected.  And, negative effects of corks were beginning to be noticed by Sommeliers and consumers of wine upon opening up the bottle.  The result of these investigations is that dozens, if not hundreds of wineries producing wines of high quality, and often high prices, have shifted towards using screw tops to seal the bottles.

History of Use

• Cork- Harvested from the Cork Oak tree, the material was found to be impermeable, buoyant, elastic, and fire resistant.  While cork is used in a variety of products, the most common use is for wine stoppers. Its first record of use can be found in ancient Egypt.  Throughout the years, cork was used in many different applications; fishing buoys, beehives, sandals and as stoppers for vessels of wine and olive oil.  However, as late as the mid-17th century, European vintners preferred not to use cork stoppers.  Instead, olive oil-soaked rags or hemp were wrapped around conical stoppers and stuffed into the necks of bottles.  French Benedictine Monk, Dom Perignon, is credited with causing the widespread use of corks in wine bottles. Today, natural cork stoppers are used to seal about 80% of the 20 billion bottles of wine produced each year. It is unclear when synthetic corks arrived on the scene, but when they did there was a sharp decrease in the use of natural cork stoppers.  However, notable problems arose with synthetic corks and thus, cork wine-stoppers have been making a comeback and currently represent about 60% of wine-stoppers in use today.

• Screw Cap- The screw cap, or Stelvin as it has come to be called, was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  It was developed by the French company La Bouchage Mecanique.  Its genesis is the result of its predecessor, the Stelcap/cork combination.  This closure utilized a cork and Stelcap (metal-based cap placed on top of the cork).  Another form of the Stelcap was a long-skirted screw cap.  The Stelcap had a different inner lining than today’s Stelvin cap (paper over cork, instead of PVDC or PVDC covered by foil-covered paper, respectively). Original trial use occurred in 1970/71 by the Swiss wine company producing Chasselas.  (This wine was found to be particularly affected by cork taint.)  Stelvins were first used commercially, in Europe, in 1972 by the Swiss winery Hammel.  The caps were adopted commercially in Australia in late 1976/early 1977.
  

Advantages of each

• Cork – Cork has the benefit of a long history; it has been used as a sealing mechanism for millennia.  Cork is also a renewable resource as the oak trees are not killed when the bark is stripped to make cork and they’re biodegradable. Cork stoppers also support an entire industry of corkscrews and other cork-removal products.  Lastly, but maybe most importantly, the cork has the wonderful ability to let wines breathe and age inside the bottle.

• Screw Cap – Similar to synthetic corks, Stelvins allow vintners to avoid problems of cork taint. Stelvins are also less expensive than natural or plastic corks.  They can also be removed without any special equipment; just a simple twist.

Disadvantages of each

• Corks – Wine Corks can often go bad. Industry estimates vary, but as little as 1% to as much as 20% of all wine sold are “corked.”  This means that 1-20% of wines are damaged by a bad cork.  The cork can break down releasing chemicals into the wine.  Wine corks, at times, can be difficult to remove, and as most of us have experienced, can sometimes break off into the bottle.

• Screw Cap – Similar to plastic corks, Stelvins can cause environmental issues, such as difficulty with recycling the material.  Stelvins also pose a threat to the cork farming industry and its associated industries (i.e. corkscrews).  Stelvins also get a bad rap because screw caps are often seen as a cheap alternative destined only for the low grade wines and/or low grade liquors in brown paper bags.  Lastly, the verdict is still out on how screw caps will react to long periods of aging.

As you can see, corks and screw caps both have their pros and cons.  This has led to much debate over which one is truly better.  Romantics love the cork, but some folks in the wine industry view screw caps as the future.

Industry Trends

Initially, screw caps were met with much customer resistance when they were introduced in Australia and New Zealand.  They were actually phased out of those countries wine industries in the early 1980s, only to be reintroduced gradually in the 1990s. Since then an ever-increasing number of vintners have begun to use the screw cap within Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, the use of screw caps went from 1% in 2001 to 70% in 2004.

In Europe, screw caps have been met with varying degrees of acceptance.  The United Kingdom has seen the acceptance of screw caps by consumers more than double from 41% in 2003 to 85% in 2011.  As mentioned above, screw caps have been widely accepted since the 1980s by Swiss winemakers. In France, screw caps have also found acceptance with some vintners.  Most notably, Domaine Laroche in Chablis, France has been bottling their Chablis, Premier crus and Grand Crus, with screw caps since 2001.

Screw caps were met with much resistance in Spain.  In fact, Spain has passed a law that requires wineries in their 11 top wine producing regions to seal their wines with cork.  In order to receive DO (Denominacion de Origen) status in those regions, wineries must use a natral cork closure on still and sparkling wines.  The use of synthetic closures has also been outlawed to some degree.

In the United States, Corbett Canyon became the first million plus case brand to switch to screw caps for their entire production in 2004. Other US wineries have also made the move to screw caps.  Most often mentioned is Plump Jack Winery in California.

But What about Plastic Corks?

Synthetic corks have a shaky track record.  One glaring issue is their inability to prevent high levels of oxidation for any real length of time. This significantly decreases the shelf life of a wine and short-changes the maturing process of select wines.  The main issue is that over time the plastic may not retain its elasticity well.  Also, if not recycled, plastic corks pose a direct threat to the environment.

The following vineyards in California produce varietals of Carginane:

• Baxter Winery – Mendocino & Lake Counties

• Horse and Plow Winery – Mendocino & Lake Counties

• Ranchero Cellars – Mendocino & Lake Counties

• Lolonis Winery – Mendocino & Lake Counties

• Fife Vineyards – Mendocino County

• Zina Hyde Cunningham Vineyard – Mendocino County

• Husch Vineyards – Mendocino County

• Shenandoah Vineyards & Sobon Estate – Amador County

• Obscurity Cellars – Amador County

• Alderbrook Winery – Sonoma County

• Longboard Vineyards – Sonoma County

• Frick Winery – Sonoma County

• Preston Vineyards – Sonoma County

• Pellegrini Family Vineyards – Sonoma County

• Peterson Winery – Sonoma County

• Artezin Wines – Napa County

• Cline Cellars – Contra Costa, Napa & Sonoma Counties

History of Use

Utilization of stainless steel barrels in the wine making industry has been growing in the last half century.  Most modern wineries, especially those in the United States, use stainless steel.  The slow shift towards more use of stainless steel barrels was caused by the need to control costs and the fermentation process.  Stainless steel barrels offer longevity and the ability to manage the temperature of the vessel and yeast.

Properties of Stainless Steel

Stainless steel barrels are designed for wine making in all of the stages of development, fermentation and maturation. Barrels made from stainless steel offer product integrity, longevity and purity of materials.  Modern winemakers like using stainless steel because they can better control the addition of oak characteristics by, utilizing oak chips or mixing storage containers throughout the storage/aging process.

Effects on Wine & Advantages of Use

Stainless steel wine barrels are marketing as “giving the winemaker the best of both worlds.”  As stated above, wines can be aged in stainless steel without adding oak flavor to the wine and a winemaker can use whatever ratio of oak to steel barrel that is desired, without sacrificing integrity and complexity. By using stainless steel barrels in the wine making process, wine makers have more flexibility with regards to the type of wines that are created.

History of Use

In the early history of wine making, ceramic vessels were solely used for the storage and transportation of wine. Because wood can fall subject to nature and time, tracing the history of using barrels in wine making has proven to be difficult.  In ancient Mesopotamia barrels made from palm wood were used to transport wine along the Euphrates River.  Specific properties of palm wood caused it to be a difficult material to bend and fashion into barrels.  As a result wine merchants from different regions began experimenting with different wood styles.

Historians have been able to detect that oak has been present in wine making for at least 2 millennia.  Ancient records show that oak first came into use, on a widespread basis, during the Roman Empire.  Over time, wine makers found, that along with being great for storage and transportation, the oak barrels also imparted beneficial properties that helped to improve the wine.  In some cases the barrels made the wine lighter and better tasting.  In southeastern Europe, the indigenous oak of that region was, and continues to be, used in making barrels.

For centuries French winemakers prized and used mostly Hungarian oak barrels.  In the middle of the 20th Century, the supply lines got cut as a result of the Iron Curtain.  At that point French wine makers had to find their own source of oak (see French Oak Barrels).   Towards the end of the 20th Century, when the Iron Curtain dropped, the supply line was restored.

Source of Oak

Hungarian Oak (aka Italian Oak) is the indigenous oak species in the area of Southeastern Europe.  Italy, the Balkans, Romania, Turkey and Hungary are where Hungarian oak can be found growing in varying degrees.  The epicenter of the growing area is found in the Balkans and, despite the English translation, is not widely found in Hungary.  As a result, some of the most prized oak barrels for wine making are those made from wood found in the Tokaj-Zemplén Forest in Hungary.  (They are also prized because of the success of Hungarian wines in International competitions.)

Properties of Oak

Hungarian Oak grows slowly and best in soils that are heavily acidic.  The hemi-cellulose in Eastern European oak tends to break down more easily which helps to impart exceptional characteristics on wine.  In the Zemplén Mountains the volcanic soil causes the oak trees to grow smaller as well.  This creates a finer grain which leads to a very delicate harvesting process.

Effects on Wine & Advantages of Use

As stated above, Hungarian Oak, from the Tokaj-Zemplén Forest, is the most prized of the Hungarian Oak species because of the properties it imparts on the wine.  Winemakers have found and prefer the softer, smoother and creamier textures that are produced in the wine after storage.  Along with those textures, the oak, as a result of it finer grain, imparts great flavors as well.  The flavors are also more slowly developed in Hungarian Oak than in the French and American oak barrels.  After storage connoisseurs and casual wine drinkers, are exposed to toasted, vanilla, sugary, woody, spicy and caramel-like flavors.  Year after year, Hungarian wines continue to have success at major international wine competitions, showing that the hype is well deserved.