. It seems to happen about 4-10% of the time with natural corks, depending on whose data you read. I’ve seen reps (usually at the distribution, or retail levels), who open bottles and just pour. They should all smell, and...

Haven’t been documenting it but my WAG for recently purchased wines sealed with natural cork is similar to or a little less than yours. The corked rate is definitely higher for wines from my cellar, i.e. purchased 10 or 20...

works in the largest wine store in NYS and she tells me they get more bad bottles returned that had natural corks as opposed to the synthetic ones. I suggested that may have been because the wines were not stored on their sides...

Will the screw-top wine bottle spell exctinction for an ecosystem in Portugal?

Let’s presume — as I am — that this was an accident. A screwcap-ed bottle will certainly have a screwcap on it, but a bottle that is SUPPOSED to be sealed with a cork (natural or synthetic) can go through the...

Basically it’s rotten wine. Corks are natural material and hence can spoil and let air in and ruin a bottle of wine. —Dommy!

Musings on the nature of the box.

Today I’m at the home of my friends Jack and Thelma, who really know how to throw a party.

My guess: If the wine had been stored for a while in a warm location and then chilled shortly before opening, a vacuum would have been created. Since corks are not completely airtight, nature would eventually eliminate the...

A little argon goes a long way.

was in British Columbia last year, I observed that a number of premium British Columbian wines had plastic seals instead of natural cork stoppers. There is, however, considerable consumer resistence to plastic seals and screw...

wine. I am a little annoyed that this winery went to screw top. I understand the flaws of natural cork but I am willing to live with them. If a winery insists on not using natural cork then I would prefer a synthetic cork with a...

-tainted wines seem dry, even though I had the bottles stored on their sides. The color at the “wet-end” of the cork also seems to be grey, not the natural cork color. This has not happened in all cases, but enough...

maria lorraine, this should be a separate topic (which I just may start) but I would presume that your cork vs stelvin experience with Le Cigare Volant would put you in the camp of those who feel there is enough oxygen exchange...

and bottom of gadget together and turn the knob on top until the cork pops out. Done. Ours at least seems to work equally well on natural corks and the plastic ones. Kind of a slow and steady wins the race solution, as I’m...