Corkscrew vs. Screwcap for Wine Bottles – Back to Basics

If you don’t have a corkscrew, a screw-cap is always useful! John from Majestic Aylesbury explains their main differences. Both of course are always available at https://www.majestic.co.uk

Hi, I’m John from Majestic Wine Aylesbury and I’m going to talk to you about the differences between cork closures and screw-cap closures.

Cork comes from bark from young oak, generally from Portugal, but it’s also from North Africa and Spain. The great thing about cork is it’s elastic. It’s easy to pop in a bottle, and it will elasticate out, and it’ll keep that nice, sealed closure. Cork can slowly let air creep in and let the wine develop those complex aromas and flavors over time. However, the negatives for cork is your wine can come corked.

Winemakers are finding they want alternatives. They want their wines not corked, fault-free. We found a great alternative though is screw cap. Screw cap has really only taken off in the last decade. The French, surprisingly, actually designed it, but it’s really that New Zealand is who have popularized this and taken it on.

Wine with a cork closure can still be argued that it’s better for aging the wine. The cork can slowly release the air and let the subtle aromas and flavors develop in the wine. However, the screw cap, you’ve got the advantage that it won’t be corked, plus the fact if you’re out having a picnic and you forget your corkscrew, you can dive straight in.

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