Screw caps were widely adopted in the 1980s by Swiss winemakers. Screw caps met with customer resistance in Australia and New Zealand, and were phased out in the early 1980s, only to be reintroduced gradually in the 1990s.
Cork has some theoretical benefits. There’s a certain level of ritual in popping one, and it is pleasurable. It’s traditional, and plenty of red wine producers feel that the jury is still out on the longevity of screw-caps. If your wine is a red built for long aging, cork can be a good thing because it’s a teensy bit permeable and lets in a bit of oxygen, which softens tannins
The main disadvantage of the screw-cap is perception besides its many advantages over cork-sealed wine – people aren’t used to associating it with good wine.
The Pros & Cons:
1)Screw-caps keep oxygen out, if your wine whose tannins do not need a long adjustment period, you’re better off because oxygenation can also degrade wine.
2)Screw-caps are easy. No gear required, no struggling with a cork that Just Won’t Come Out or one that breaks and scatters bark fragments into your wine.
3) Screw caps provide the best seal for bottled wines and eliminate the “corked” and oxidation problem. No cork means no chance of cork taint.
4)Corks are expensive for the producer. That expense is very probably transferred to the consumer.
5)Many people still have a subconscious prejudice against screw-capped wine, screw caps have been associated with cheap wines in the past.
Screw Caps Wine are now available at The Oaks Cellars