CLOSURES: Something in the Air
6th February, 2008 by db_staff - This article is over multiple pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8The closures topic has moved away from the natural, screwcap or synthetic debate, and now focuses on oxygen transmission rates, writes Jamie Goode
It wasn’t so long ago that closures was the hot topic in the wine industry. But responses to questions on the subject from experts in the field are all similarly dismissive. “Closures all seems a little last year now … or last decade,” remarks technical expert Richard Gibson, director, Scorpex Wine Services. And Kiwi winemaker Michael Brajkovich reports: “The New Zealand Screwcap Initiative has had very little activity over the last year, and the emphasis will now be on the International Screwcap Initiative, although there has been very little activity there of late.”
So how is it that a topic that used to get people’s blood boiling has now become so uncontroversial as to no longer be newsworthy? There are several potential explanations. First, the debate has moved away from the issue of taint – it’s widely accepted that natural cork carries with it a certain risk. “I think there is a greater understanding of closure risks and benefits,” says Gibson. Instead, the current key debate is about oxygen transmission levels, and how these might effect wine development, which is quite technical and less inflammatory. Second, there is now much more familiarity with and acceptance of alternative closures generally. Third, people might just have become bored with the whole topic – after all, a lot has been written about it.
But this closures apathy doesn’t mean that it isn’t still a vital issue for the wine business; nor does it mean that there isn’t any progress. This brief review is an attempt to characterise the current state of play.