The cork versus synthetic closures controversy is one of those wine related issues that wine enthusiasts love to debate. Both sides of the cork vs. synthetic closures issue can debate for a long time as to which is the best closure to use.

There is a lot to be said for both types of wine closures. Jo Diaz, a professional wine publicist, wrote a blog that focused on the difficulty of opening wine bottles that use synthetic closures. Her blog received numerous comments and when you read her blog also read the comments. One of the most interesting comments is from a sommelier who believes in the use of synthetic closures. Jo’s blog, “Plastic corks are going to be the death of me” can be read at http://www.wine-blog.org/index.php/2010/08/05/plastic-corks-are-going-to-be-the-death-of-me/.

We have met one winemaker who likes to use cork because he worries about what will happen to the cork forests in Portugal if all wineries stop using natural cork. Is this a valid concern?

This debate is only the beginning of the discussion of closures for various wine bottles. What are the opinions of glass enclosures as being used by Eight Bells Winery in Seattle? Or the Zork cork that Serpent Ridge Vineyard in Maryland is using for their wine bottles? Screwcaps anyone?

Does anyone know of research that compares all of these different closures? Not only does ease of opening matter, but the affect of the closures on the wine is equally if not more important.

Cheers! Kathy