Still no closure to the debate 6 July 2006

Synthetic corks are not a satisfactory answer, suggests Tim James

Sometimes it seems that the debate is all about screwcaps versus natural cork when it comes to sealing wine bottles. I was reminded with a bit of a jolt, though, the other day, that plastic still plays a big role, though mostly in downmarket wines.

Quando is a good sauvignon blanc – the only wine made themselves by Fanus and Martin Bruwer on their large and diverse Robertson farm. It has a lovely Italianate label, a not unreasonable price (about R40) and is satisfactory in every way – except, except that out of the neck of the latest bottles (the 2006 vintage) comes a lump of black plastic.

Is it pure prejudice that makes me think the artificial cork to be rather cheap and nasty? Perhaps, but there are some indisputable disadvantages. The synthetic version is often difficult to remove from the bottle – massive strength is sometimes called for, and many corkscrews have had their lives ruined in valiant battle. If you get it out, it is usually totally impossible to push it back in if you want to re-seal the wine. Nothing beats the screwcap for this, of course.) It is not bio-degradable, and I doubt if it’s recyclable. Nothing beats cork for environmental friendliness.

A problem in some cases is the very dubious record of synthetic stoppers in satisfactory sealing wine for more than a year or two: it can let in oxygen, and sometimes there is a taste of plastic. It is pretty definitely not a long-term closure – which is not a problem, of course, for most wines, which get drunk immediately. (The Quando, by the way, matures attractively over a few years – certainly it has done so under cork in the past.)

So why do producers use it? Cost is often the reason (it’s cheaper than good quality cork), but the attempt to avoid the problem of cork taint is another. It was behind Fanus Bruwer’s decision – a very reluctant one, he says – to make the move:

‘Although I’ve always used good quality corks, over the past few years, I have come across TCA- tainted bottles from time to time. But at one stage last year, I had a lot of complaints. The majority of wine cunsumers world wide do not really know the difference between a “corked” wine and and just a bad wine. It reached a point where some of my best customers in the UK said that they would take my wine from their winelists if the situation continued.‘

Quando’s UK agent – the biggest buyer of the wine – suggested the move to synthetic corks, so the Bruwers had to listen. But why not move to screwcaps? In Australia and New Zealand it's very much accepted, in the UK it is increasingly so, though still mostly at the lower price end, admittedly. But, according to Jancis Robinson, 'wine bottlers report that the proportion of all wine they stopper with a screwcap has risen to 85 per cent in the last three years'.

Fanus says that he discussed the issue widely with agents and customers here and abroad. ‘There seems to be more resistance towards screwcaps than synthetic corks. In South Africa and the USA on my production to do a separate bottling of screwcaps and synthetic cork is just not economically viable – it would mean different bottles, lables sizes etc.’

Screwcaps are not without their problems, Fanus points out, perhaps especially in South Africa:

‘The quality of caps and bottles from the two major suppliers in this country varies tremendously. I went on a holy grail search to find the best screw cap locally available. Speaking to some leading producers using it, you  hear about the horror stories behind the scenes that went wrong. Batches of caps that just would not open after thousands of bottles have been bottled with it, bottles not being sealed properly, a metallic taste in the wine,etc.’

While admitting that its impossible to please everyone, Fanus says that in the month or so that the 2006 Quando has been out in the market, there have been no complaints yet. (Just the one from me!) ‘During our annual Wacky Wine Weekend here in Robertson’, he says, ‘I had over 200 people on the farm through our door tasting and buying our wine. We actually asked their opininon on the black cork and everybody thought it to be rather funky!’

The closure debate rumbles on. Let’s not forget there are other devices around, apart even from screwcaps natural and synthetic corks: there are synthetic closures or varying types, there is (my favourite) the glass stopper. Of all of them, I must say that the one I dislike most is the synthetic version of the traditional cork. My wish would be to see Quando and its like under screwcap – it seems the logical and best closure for a sauvignon blanc. But at least there won’t be cork taint from that plug of black plastic.

• Link to Quando website