In this age, when we are all aware of the damage done to the environment and the need to start producing and consuming in a way that is more sustainable and in harmony with nature, the tendency is to try and find clean, natural and sustainable alternatives. It is all the more surprising, then, to discover that the wine industry is going the opposite way. Or more specifically, the wine bottling industry, which has started substituting cork stoppers for plastic ones.
The reason for this apparent regression into the industrial revolution is cork taint, a phenomenon that causes approximately five per cent of white wine to be spoiled and become undrinkable. While this problem has been around for some time it has become particularly associated with the shipment of white wines across long distances – and given the rise of wine exports from the Antipodean region the commercial interests are considerable.
Not having a traditional winegrowing culture, much less a cork-growing one, countries such as Australia and New Zealand were quick to find a cheap and practical solution to the problem, merely replacing natural corks with plastic caps or screw tops. Some even went so far as to produce plastic corks that resemble the original in looks but certainly not in feel or tradition. Let’s not forget that these are all petrochemical by-products replacing natural, biodegradable and sustainable ones.
What’s more, cork taint does not really affect red wines and, according to some, the use of plastic stoppers may even be detrimental to the maturing of reds. While research labs collect data and tell us it will be several years before definitive answers can be given, millions of plastic-topped bottles from New World and even European producers are finding their way onto the market. They are gaining market share at such a rate that wine corks may soon be a thing of the past.
Are we right to let millions of plastic bottle tops find their way into the environment where before we had a natural product? Is the problem of cork taint worth letting ancient cork-growing areas fall to ruin, or are there other possible solutions that could maintain this harmonious form of agriculture whilst also dealing with cork taint? The fact is, the cork industry is fighting back, trying to design new processes that will eliminate the chance of taint from corks. Let’s hope they succeed, for it would be a great pity to add yet more litter to our environment and see the ancient cork groves of Southern Europe disappear for good. In the meantime, the choice as a consumer is yours.
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