Comments on: The Great Cork Debate: Natural vs. Synthetic vs. Screw Cap

By: Greg M

Greg M — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:50:03 +0000

He’s testing the effect on the cork, not the effect on the wine. The sun heats up the air and increases the pressure so you can see which fails under increased pressure and how quickly it fails. Of course there’s no need for a sealed bottle to hold in a great deal of pressure unless it’s a champagne bottle which is, of course, why they have wire cages. So the test is not completely invalid, but is probably holding the natural corks to a higher standard than they really need to meet.

I do take exception to a variety of points in this article. Synthetic corks do expand and contract, just like any other substance. They are constantly trying to expand, just like natural corks which is what creates the seal in both cases. Neither undergoes thermal expansion and contraction remotely similar to that of glass, both, left to their own devices, would be much larger than the inside of the bottleneck.

By: Holly Snyder

Holly Snyder — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:24:07 +0000

Cork is a renewable resource because it does not require killing the trees! Here’s more information about cork trees.

The argument is not that cork is a more secure or durable closure, but that it is a BETTER one overall. Total air-tightness is not necessarily ideal, particularly for wines that will be aged long term. For wines that are drunk young, screwcaps are perfectly acceptable (and very common on a lot of Aussie wine).

Unfortunately, once you’ve left your bottles in the sun, it doesn’t matter what you closed them with–they’re probably ruined regardless. No good wine should ever be left in the sun, so I’m not sure why this is the test you used to make your argument.

By: jon r campbell

jon r campbell — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:27:34 +0000

I disagree completely (i also find it ironic that the same people that condemn the timber industry defend the cork one as a rtenweable resource, but that is besides the point)

I have taken bottles off the line, smae wine, same day, all variables similar, and put cork and screw top wines in the sun, with a white pice of paper underneath, just to see if any drops happpen……

the cork usually blows out of the bottle, while the screwtop not only was intact, but after further testing (cool down, heat up, never showed a problem)

the cork didnt even make it through the first test, but somehow i should still believe it is a better enclosure?????

By: Humidity in Wine Cellars | Wine Storage Blog - VintageCellars

Humidity in Wine Cellars | Wine Storage Blog - VintageCellars — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:58:40 +0000

[...] The reason we need a humid environment in which to store wine mostly has to do with the cork. So let’s talk about cork and it’s role in wine storage: Cork comes from cork trees, which are mostly grown in Europe, and so is an organic substance. (Incidentally, cork growing is a completely sustainable type of farming, since the tree is not killed to harvest the cork, and cork forests across the world protect many rare species of plants and animals, not to mention the cork farmers that rely on the trees for their livelihood. If you want to read our argument in support of keeping corks natural, click here.) [...]

By: Holly@VC

Holly@VC — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:53:30 +0000

For starters, things which are liquid-tight are not necessarily gas-tight. So some oxygen filters in through the structure of the cork, but wine only wets the very end of it. Also, the cork (unlike a screwcap) can move in or out of the bottle slightly, in response to things like atmospheric pressure, temperature differences and the chemical processes occurring in the wine. These slight shifts can allow more or less oxygen (and CO2 and nitrogen, since air is mostly things other than O2!) into the bottle.

By: Curtis Maurand

Curtis Maurand — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:07:57 +0000

If it doesn’t let wine out, then how does a natural cork let oxygen in? I can’t buy the whole oxygen in thing, especially when we talk about wine being in bottles for a couple hundred years and the bottles laying on their sides. Someone has to explain that to me.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:19:09 +0000

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