Should organic wine be sealed with cork stoppers?

So far this year, I have purchased approximately nine dozen bottles of organic wine. The number of those secured with traditional cork stoppers amount to only seven. That’s less than five percent, with the remainder sealed beneath screw cap devices. The move away from cork has caused some consternation among organic consumers who tend to prefer natural materials as opposed to plastic and manufactured components. On the other hand, there are experts who believe that new sealing technologies provide a safer and more dependable option for consumers.

Despite careful selection and quality controls, natural cork is associated with the risk of structural weakness and mould contamination. Most wine consumers appreciate that cork stoppered bottles can be adversely affected by oxidation or chemical reaction. Structural faults in cork tend to influence its permeability to oxygen and other atmospheric gases. Under some storage conditions, there is a risk that oxygen will penetrate the hollow fissures of a structurally impaired cork. Depending on the extent of oxidation, the affected wine will usually taste flatter and less appealing than it otherwise should.

When a bottle of wine is described as ‘corked’, mould contamination is generally the most significant contributing cause. Depending on the severity of contamination, corked wine is experienced as lacklustre on the palate with a sensation of musty dullness or worse. Despite evidence that clean and structurally sound cork provides an effective seal for many decades, the potential for contamination or oxidation is often used to encourage wider acceptance of the sterilised screw cap devices.

Screw cap devices ensure that bottled wine remains consistently fresh and impervious to oxygen. They slow down the ageing process which is not necessarily beneficial for red wine with a high tannin content. Of course, wine will alter its taste characteristic once exposed to the atmosphere. In most instances there is a comparatively larger taste shift noted for screw-capped bottles.