No, screw caps don't equate to cheap wine.
Many winemakers prefer it, actually.
I was sitting in my flat in London last December with a rare little bit of free time, and decided to watch our mother Lindsey Lohan in her latest holiday movie, “Our Little Secret.” The plot is…not important, although I do recommend it if you’re looking for a feel-good holiday rom-com. But what was important—and has unfortunately stuck with me for clearly months since watching—is one of the comments made about screw cap wines.
When Avery (Lohan) shows up with her partner Cameron (Jon Rudnitsky) at his childhood home, they are greeted by his mother Erica (Kristin Chenoweth). When Avery presents Erica with a bottle of wine as a thank you, the woman looks at the top of the bottle and says “Oh, it’s screw top. Fast and easy.” Implying, of course, that screw cap wines are lesser than.
That’s right; I’m about to be the sommelier that comes after a movie because it pushes on a myth that continues to play out in society: that screw cap wines are cheaper.
Which, guess what? It’s a myth, obviously.
Screw caps preserve the wine, and avoid from becoming “corked.”
First, why are screw caps being added to bottles?
The most prominent reason for screw caps is for preserving your wine. The screw cap seals well at the top and keeps the wine fresh, which is especially important for younger, aromatic wines that are meant to be consumed now—like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
Plus, by using a screw cap top, this eliminates the chances of the wine going bad. Around 3% of the corks used for wine have tested positive for cork taint1, a disease that lives within the cork that can have an effect on the wine after it seals. This is when 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) forms inside the tree bark when funghi, mold, or bacteria come into contact with fungicides and insecticides known as halophenols. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell if a tree has been subject to the disease, so when it is used to create cork for a bottle, there isn’t an easy way to know if it is contaminated without thoroughly testing it. Essentially, it’s a gamble.
If a bottle is topped with a tainted cork, then it can change the profile and aroma of a wine. Cork taint can make the wine smell musty, like moldy cardboard or wet dog. It will also cause the flavor of the wine to change; when you taste a wine that was subject to cork taint, the flavor and acidity will die quickly in your mouth. This is not common for a wine—the flavor should last a number of seconds on your palate.
The best way to test for cork taint is to sniff the end of the cork that was in the wine, hence why you may see a sommelier do this after they open a bottle. The cork will have a musty aroma that won’t smell pleasant, compared to the smell of wine you are expecting. If it smells that way, then you can give it a taste to see if it has been tainted.
No, “corked” wine will not make you sick. It’s still safe to consume, and to be honest, there are probably a number of people out there drinking corked wine and not even realizing it. However, if you notice that people around you aren’t drinking their wine at a normal pace, it may be a sign that the wine isn’t good. Give it a sniff, and see for yourself.
Thankfully, this is not a problem for screw cap wines.
Screw cap wines ensure that the wine is well preserved, so when you open the bottle, there isn’t the chance that the wine has gone bad. Many winemakers prefer using screw caps because it ensures the taste of their product is consistent and keeps consumers happy.
New Zealand winemakers are massive advocates with their Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative, with over twenty years of advocating for screw caps and extensive research that finds screw caps to be “superior to traditional corks.”2 Approximately 90% of New Zealand wines are topped with screw caps, significantly decreasing the loss of wine that is expected when using cork.
Why use cork at all if screw cap is essentially better for wine?
The major reason, and likely the reason we see so much “screw cap wines are cheap” propaganda out there, is because cork helps a wine to age.
Unlike screw caps, which seal the wine completely, cork provides a minuscule amount of oxygen to enter into the wine, which is beneficial for a bottle that is laid down to age for a long period of time. This is great for reds with lots of tannins (Burgundy, Bordeaux, Barolo, Napa Cabernets, Willamette Pinots) and whites that have been barrel aged (Chardonnay, Rieslings). That very small amount of oxygen exposure makes the wine more complex over time—aka, the wine will develop all kinds of interesting aromas and flavors as it ages.
While these wines could age with screw caps, they would need good oxygen exposure when opened before consuming. Decanting the wines and exposing them to the oxygen they weren’t getting during the aging process is crucial before taking a sip
Cork is also used for wines that go through double fermentation. (Sparkling wine!) Typically a wine is sealed with a crown cap during the second fermentation, which is then removed during disgorgement (when the dead yeast is removed and the sugar is added for final bottling). However, if a wine will be aging “on the lees” (aka, on the dead yeast) for a long period of time—Dom Perignon wines must age for a minimum of eight years—then a cork is placed instead of a crown cap, because the crown may not be able to withstand the pressure of the carbon dioxide trapped in the bottle for that long and the seal could break. Cork does not do this—and it helps with aging the wine, as you already know.
Essentially, cork tends to be the go-to for fine wines that are meant for aging, hence why the idea that “screw cap wines are cheaper” has become the rhetoric over time. And if the corks on these fine, expensive wines are tainted? Again…it’s a gamble wine collectors and drinkers have to face.
But people who drink screw cap wines? Not a problem they have to worry about at all! 😉
What myth should I bust next? Let me know!
A figure from the Cork Quality Council, reported in Wine Enthusiast.
“Kiwi ingenuity in the NZ wine industry.” New Zealand Wine