Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/63248
EDITOR'S DESK BORING IS Good (Sometimes) One of the challenges in putting together our annual Packaging & Closures issue is finding new story angles on the topic of natural corks. Innovative non-cork closures seem to pop up (so to speak) on a regular basis, and notable improvements have recently been made to both synthetic and screwcap closures. For example, in our story on alternative closures (page 42), Ted Rieger reports on innovations that allow winemakers to customize the oxygen transfer rates of both syn- thetic and screw- cap closures. That gives winemakers more control over the development of thei r wines once they're in the bottles. Pretty cool stuff. So what about natural corks? They're still made from the bark of oak trees and inserted into wine bottles in much the same way as they were decades ago. True, cork producers have stepped up their quality control measures over the last decade, resulting in a sig- nificant reduction in cork taint. But that's been more of an evolution than a revolution. But sometimes "boring" is a good thing. The steady quality improvement of cork stoppers has reached the point where today's young winemakers never even knew a time when cork taint was a major issue. And many of those old enough to remember those days are gravitating back to natural cork. Why? Because the stoppers have become so yawn-inducingly reliable. That's not to say that the natu- ral cork industry is standing still. As detailed in our story on page 50, leading cork suppliers are begin- ning to adopt cork-by-cork screen- ing methods, including a dry-soak screening that tests 100% of the corks in an order. While that may not be as head- line-grabbing as, say, a wine clo- sure made from glow-in-the-dark titanium, the guarantee of a taint- free batch of corks can be pretty darned sexy in winemakers' eyes. Of course, some types of pack- aging – like kegs – don't require closures at all. Not only do kegs allow wineries to sidestep the closure question, they also take bottles, labels and capsules out of the equation (see our cover story on page 36). As more wineries tap into kegs, suppliers are stepping up to offer new keg packaging and service options. Whatever type of closure you choose – whether it's natural cork, a synthetic stopper, a screwcap or the tap of a keg – it's no longer about which category has the low- est failure rate, or even what con- sumers are willing to accept. It's about which option is best suited to the type and style of wine you make. Salute! Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwm-online.com. vwm-online.com 10 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT MAY - JUNE 2012 WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM