If you've been reading this blog, you know that the last two wines I reviewed had screw tops. I recently went to the local BevMo, and was surprised to see that this seems to be a little trend. I began to wonder- why are some wine producers opting to use screw tops instead of corks? Given the negative connotations usually associated with screw tops, I find this very interesting.
I scoured the web, and found an interesting article at azom.com. The article compares screw tops to cork, but most importantly, it talks about why wine producers would opt to make the shift. What follows is an excerpt from that article.
"Reasons for the Shift from Cork to Metal Closures
The reason for this shift from cork to metal is that an increased amount of wine is being contaminated by cork taint, leaving the wine tasting musty and dull. The culprit for this unpleasant phenomenon, which can spoil up to one in 10 bottles, is trichloroanisole (TCA), a compound formed when chlorine used for bleaching reacts with mould already growing in the cork. Humans are incredibly sensitive to the compound and can detect it even at weak dilutions of six parts per trillion. TCA can flourish in several areas of a bottling facility, such as drains and barrels, but corks pose the biggest problem.
Why are Problems with Cork on the Increase?
The problem of tainted corks is thought to be on the up because cork manufacturers are finding it increasingly hard to find supplies of good quality cork to meet demand - more wine than ever is being sold in bottles, rather than in bulk form."
The rest of the article is worth reading, and I've provided a link above. Enjoy.
I found your page today and am throughly enjoying it!
I was in Switzerland last summer who produces and consumes all their own wine, at a wine tasting (which was fantastic) they told us about how all of their producers were switching to metal tops because of the mold.
Posted by: Patti | December 09, 2006 at 02:52 PM