Screwcaps blamed for tainting wine

Screwcaps blamed for tainting wine
By Richard Alleyne

Few issues divide wine drinkers more than that of the choice between corks and screwcaps.

Traditionalists love cork, as do environmentalists, because it is natural and has served the wine industry for hundreds of years. It also has a satisfying pop when the bottle is opened.

Screwcaps, on the other hand, are seen as industrial, cheap and lacking the romance of the old "closure" but they have been hailed as the future because there is no danger they will spoil or "taint" the wine, a problem that is said to affect up to one in 10 corked bottles.

However a survey by the world's biggest wine competition has added a new twist to the debate.

The tasters at this year's International Wine Challenge, discovered that while cork taint is on the decline, the problems affecting wines sealed with screwcaps have probably been underestimated.

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