Screwcaps - the kind of caps that are commonly found on soda bottles throughout the world - have been used in the wine industry for many years.  However, they have mainly been used on inexpensive jug wines (the kind that don't merit the cork-sniffing routine), and fortified wines (those with high alcohol content, such as port, sherry, and madeira).  The news in the wine industry during the past several years is the appearance of screwcaps on bottles of considerably more upscale varieties. 

Leading the charge have been the adventurous winemakers of New Zealand.  (See the link below to the New Zealand Screwcap Initiative.)  They, and others in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, have turned to screwcap technology to solve a problem that has plagued the wine industry for years - that of contamination of wine by 246-trichloranisole (commonly known as TCA).  TCA, which is formed by the action of chlorine in the process of manufacturing corks from the bark of the cork tree, spoils wine.  And with an estimated five percent of all bottled wine contaminated by TCA (and many other bottles spoiled by oxidation due to poor-fitting or dried-out corks), the financial losses to the industry - and to consumers - are substantial.  Plastic corks, used by some Australian as well as U.S. wineries, have failed to gain wide acceptance, in part because they are hard to remove.  The screwcap, however, is growing rapidly in popularity. 

Bonny Doon Vineyard (see link below) in Santa Cruz, California, has been one of the leaders among better-known American wineries, but other West Coast wineries are following suit, including Sonoma-Cutrer, Whitehall Lane, and Hogue Cellars.  The screwcap of choice is the Stelvin, developed in France in the 1970s.  The Stelvin has a polymer seal ring at the base of the metal cap which preserves the wine and eliminates the risk of its being tainted.  Links below include several articles by wine writers, and some winery sites, as well as the Stelvin company and - in the opposite corner - the Portuguese cork industry, which stands to lose an export product worth well over a billion dollars a year.  The big unresolved issue is how well screwcapped wines will fare when they are "put down" (allowed to age for a number of years).  The betting among experts, however, is that the cork will soon go the way of other obsolete technologies and the ritual sniffing of the cork as the waiter prepares to pour a taste of wine will disappear from our gastronomic repertoire.

"By Popular Acclaim:  The Screw Cap," by Frank Prial, International Herald Tribune (April 24, 2004).  "New caps are even on the good stuff nowadays," reports the New York Times wine critic.

"Everything You Wanted to Know, But Never Dared to Ask About Screwcaps. . . ," from Felton Road Wines, one of the New Zealand wineries that is leading the worldwide move toward screwcaps.  Answers to such questions as, "Why put something used on Coca-Cola onto fine wine?"

"Screw Caps Make the Turn in America, Canada," by Nick Fauchald, The Wine Spectator (March 9, 2004). "Screw caps are continuing to gain popularity with North American vintners, who are embracing the closure as a taint-proof alternative to natural cork."  Reports on specific North American wineries moving to screwcaps, with links to previous Wine Spectator articles on the subject.

"More on corked wines, screw cap (Stelvyn), plastic corks, etc.," a post by nickp (Australian wine afficionado) on Epicurious.com, with links to related posts.

"Are You Getting Screwed?" Direct from Santa Cruz, California, Bonny Doon Vineyards' take on the screwcap controversy.  Be sure to visit their "Death of the Cork" site - complete with pictures of the funerals in New York and San Francisco in October 2002.

Pechiney-Stelvin - the French firm whose "Stelvin" screwcap is the dominant force in the growing screwcap market.

Corkmasters - the English language site of the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR).  Defending the cork against the screw cap invasion.  

"Popping the Cork," by Bob Norberg in The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat (April 3, 2004).  Report on recent developments in the California wine industry.

"Getting Screwy:  Amid Disgust Over ‘Cork Taint,’ Some Wines Get Screw Caps," by Michael S. James, ABC News.com (August 6, 2002).  Lengthy discussion of the problem of cork taint and the growing use of screwcaps to defeat it.

The New Zealand Screwcap Wine Seal Initiative - a NZ wine industry coalition aimed at promoting the use of screwcaps among New Zealand wineries and their acceptance by consumers.  The web site includes information about the International Screwcap Symposium in Marlborough, NZ, 10/11 November 2004.  Also, instructions on the proper way to open a bottle of wine sealed with a screwcap.

"The History and Revival of Screwcaps," by Sue Courtney, on Wine of the Week, a webzine for food and wine lovers, focusing on the wines of New Zealand. (2001 article, updated March 2004).

Corkwatch - "The impartial, non-commercial site for everyone who cares more about the flavour of the wine they drink than the package in which it comes," created by British food writer Robert Joseph.

"If the cap fits ... Forget the snobbery attached to screw-top bottles - it's better than drinking corked wine," by Tim Atkin in The Observer (UK), February 15, 2004.