Wine Corks Pros and Cons are important to know about for your wine’s sake! I didn’t! and I lost a few bottles in my early years of collecting. I realize then it is important. If you are going to start collecting wine you should know about the different types of corks. This knowledge will help you decide on how to store your wine and when to drink them. Because storing the wine in an appropriate way is a must! Not all corks are created equal! Neither are the wines!
Let’s go through the 3 types of Wine Corks Pros and Cons that are most commonly used today.
Natural Corks
Pros
- There is just something to be said about the tradition and ceremonial Popping of a wine cork! It’s tradition and in many ways romantic! Tradition is important to some wine collectors and corks are a wine tradition. Corks started to be used around the 1600s by monks from what I could find.
- Aging, this process of certain wines will continue over time if stored properly. A functional cork will not allow air into and out of the bottle but the cells of the cork do contain oxygen that is released into the wine and that affects how the wine ages.
- Cork is made from the bark of cork oak trees. Once harvested, the tree will regenerate the missing bark and you can harvest the bark about every 9 to 10 years.
Cons
- Cork is far more expensive than the screw caps. There are more variables in the harvesting and manufacturing processes of the corks.
- Not all corks are created equally, they are natural, the quality of the bark from tree, to tree will vary, and in turn, the harvesting will not always be the same. This is a factor in price and quality.
- Substandard cork can cause your wine to spoil by failing to provide a proper seal.
- Taste musty? This is just something that happens to wine sometimes when they have natural corks.
Synthetic Corks
Pros
- Synthetic corks will last for a long time. Synthetic cork is not natural but it does protect the wine.
- Wine bottles can be stored standing up instead of being laid down since they don’t require the moisture from the wine to keep up cork integrity.
- Synthetic corks have a tight seal and are anti-bacterial.
Cons
- Synthetic cork material is mostly comprised of petroleum-based plastic so some argue that it adds a chemical flavor and or odor to the wine.
Screw Tops
Pros
- Screw caps are cheaper and more readily available than traditional corks.
- They are easy to open and never degrade so no worries of cork crumbling in your wine.
- Tighter Seals with screw caps, and they offer a consistent, airtight seal that corks cannot. This makes it ideal for both short-term and long-term wines that don’t rely on the aging process.
Cons
- The materials used to make screw caps are recyclable. The good news, but is non-renewable making this a non-sustainable option.
- Many of us and some collectors prefer corks because they affect the aging process to some degree. Screw caps do not due to the fact that they are airtight. They do not let any oxygen into the bottle.
- It’s not uncommon for screw caps to be associated with cheaper wines and most wine collectors see screw caps as a violation of wine tradition.
Wine Corks Pros and Cons are important to know about for your wine’s sake!
Stop and Think about how wines are produced these days. Wine is not meant to age as it did many years ago. Wine-making is an art, the art of wine-making is a true gift to have as a winemaker! Wine Corks Pros and Cons are something people should be aware of and think about, with that said we still have some amazing wineries that refuse to let the art of wine-making die. Go here to learn about one of the wineries that are keeping the old traditions alive! Wine-making truly is an ART! I would never want to lose the amazing wines that are made when you allow the wine to age in its own time, in wine barrels, then in bottles. This is the way it was meant to age, Over Time!
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