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Screw Tops vs. Corks: Debunking the Myth of Wine Quality

Updated: Aug 31, 2023

True or false – wines sealed with a screw top are cheaper in quality than wines sealed with a cork? Answer: false!


We love a screw top for SO many reasons! Screw caps are vital to modern wine preservation. Especially with wild temperature fluctuations while shipping!


While corks may be more romantic, they are susceptible to degradation and cork taint — a combination of enzymes and fungus that can ruin a wine, leaving it to taste and smell like wet Birkenstocks that were left in the basement for a month…yuck.


The closure of a wine, whether it is a screw top or cork, is no indication of its quality - it is just the preference from the winemaker based on a couple of different factors. One of the reasons winemakers like screw tops is because it creates an airtight closure. Corks are porous and will naturally let oxygen in overtime. It can also let in bacteria, mold and TCA which is what causes a wine to “cork” or turn bad as mentioned above.


Screw caps can truly prevent this from happening. They are way safer and have been around on wines since the 60s. Winemakers we’re just tired of low-quality corks damaging their wines. If you look at Australia, New Zealand and other new world wines, almost all of them are sealed with screw caps.


There has been a lot of romanticism with corks in wines – and a lot of stigma around screw tops (think Boone’s Farm). Also, screw tops are not just


reserved for the more modestly priced wines. I recently saw a $300 bottle of wine with the screw cap on it, so again not an indication of quality.


Choosing a wine closure is a HUGE decision for a winemaker. They go through endless trails of hundreds of different corks versus screw top closure


s. When our Marketing Manager, Jen, worked at Chalk Hill in Sonoma she was part of the “cork trials”. A huge auditorium set up with hundreds of corks floating in sealed cups of wine to smell, sniff and test. When a winemaker chooses a screw cap just know it came with a lot of thought of how to preserve the quality of wine they are sending out to the world.


Not to mention the horror of packing an adult picnic basket for the beach and then realizing you forgot the corkscrew!! Never a problem with a crisp screw top. So, crack open a bottle and drink up – no corkscrew required.




Xxoo - Julia


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