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The Cork Myth

Corks have no advantages over other types of bottle closures, they are possible the least suitable option

ANDREW J. LINN

Friday, 27 July 2018, 12:20

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Most of us don't give a thought to the cork we remove from a bottle, unless, that is, the damned thing breaks off halfway or comes out smelling funny. A good-looking cork is considered a guarantee that we are about to drink something worthwhile. This is what the cork producers fight incessantly to maintain as an unconditional element in the presentation of a bottle of wine.

WINE OF THE WEEK

  • Vina Tondonia Reserva

  • Most wine drinkers with even the most elementary familiarity with Spanish labels will recognise this iconic Rioja as being one of the best. The López Heredia bodega in Haro (founded 1877) is located in the historic 'Barrio de la Estación' where the most traditional wines have always been made. This Reserva has six years barrel-age and at a very reasonable 25 euros is too good to miss.

What advantages does cork offer over other types of bottle closures? Actually none at all, and it is possibly the least suitable option. Innumerable scientific studies show that crown and screwcaps are much better ways of sealing wine bottles, and superior for maturing wine. The myth we hear so often that runs along the lines of 'If there is no contact between the liquid and the cork, it will dry out and the wine will spoil' is just that - a myth, never proven scientifically or even circumstantially.

Nor is it best to store bottles horizontally. Whatever closure is used a bottle can be stored vertically and the results will be the same. New World wines, particularly those from Australia and New Zealand, almost unanimously vote for screwcaps. It is almost impossible to demonstrate that a cork stopper is best for wine, either at the table or in the cellar. Maturing wine sealed with cork is more expensive and less reliable than using the same crown caps that soft drink manufacturers use. Not even winemakers are unconditional fans of cork, but use it across the board because that is what the drinking public expects.

The almost mythical reds from the Italian Gaja bodega are sold with corks firmly in place, but Angelo Gaja insists that the vintages stored in his cellars that are destined to be kept for posterity, have crown caps. He is among many winemakers that share the same philosophy. It is one rule for the wine buyer and another for the working bodega. Regrettably it has to be admitted that the cork in a bottle of wine is good for little more than decorative purposes and to keep up a tradition.

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