At my job in the wine cellar I meet a surprising number of people resistant to any wine with a screwcap So many people feel that a screwcap still denotes cheaply made or inferior wine. Like many ideas, this has some basis in fact but is no longer the overall reality.

Back in the day, generally the '50s though the '80s, most inexpensive bulk wine was finished with a screw cap while most premium wines were sealed with a cork. This went on long enough that it became fairly accepted as a general wine "rule of thumb". However, over the past couple of decades, not all, but many winemakers have come to feel that screwcap closures are in fact an even better closure to protect the wine than cork. The thinking is, cork is a natural product which can have flaws that allow oxygen to enter the bottle which in turn causes spoilage. This cannot happen with a screwcap closure unless it becomes damaged, giving the winemaker more assurance overall that their wine will be ready to enjoy when the consumer opens it.

Let's be clear here. The acceptance of screwcap closures for premium wine has not been universal in the wine world and they have some fairly reputable retractors. There have been some independent studies that show screwcaps offer no superior protection to cork. I too love uncorking a bottle of wine. There's just something about the popping of that cork that seems to add to the experience. I also do not believe that corks will disappear from wine bottles anytime soon. That said, don't simply draw a line in the sand and say you'll never purchase a screwcap wine. Just like wines sealed with corks: there are some very good ones and there are lousy ones. There are simply too many variables and in my opinion you're missing out on a lot of good wine if you do that. And it is certainly not in bad taste to take a screwcap wine to your dinner host, or serve one to your guests. What matters most is the wine itself right? No one is going to be tasting the cork or the cap.

Australia and New Zealand seem to have embraced screwcap closures a bit more readily than the rest of the wine world. For a bit of perspective, I point to an Australian wine many of you may have heard of. It's an esteemed red blend from Molly Dooker called Enchanted Path that retails for around $100. It's sealed with a screwcap. Enough said.