Storing wines under screwcap
Increasingly today, screwcaps are replacing corks even on top wines. What exactly are the cellaring possibilities when storing wines under screwcap?
Why the new twist?
Sadly, there has been many a great wine ruined by cork taint. Various studies have suggested that between 5 and 8% of corks are defective and may impart some level of spoilage to a wine. That can mean up to one bottle per carton. But when storing wines under screwcap, the food-grade polymer seal in the cap can virtually eliminate outside air contact, preventing not only leakage but eliminating spoilage due to cork taint.
Effects on aging
Storing wines under screwcap, still allows wines to develop and the flavours mature, though many believe it will be at a slower rate. Wines age as a result of not only that small amount of air that enters the bottle through the cork. Many of the changes in a wine occur without the presence of oxygen, so will continue unaffected.
This in turn means there will be far less variation in wine quality from one bottle to another. Storing wines under a screwcap means you can leave them standing upright or lying down. Normally the only reason to lay bottles down is to keep the cork from drying out. So storing wines under screwcap can offer greater flexibility in where and how you locate your cellar.
