It's interesting that you're considering the screwcap vs. cork thing as a matter of aesthetics of the functional experience and its influence on the overall aesthetics of the sensory experience, Bob.
(It's also typical of your thoughtful and analytical approach to all you do, I might add.)
I had come to the same conclusion some time ago, not so much in an Aha! moment but more as an honest appreciation that the function of twisting open a cap (which gives both tactile and auditory signals) is or can be quite pleasing, whereas the more complicated multi-step approach of knife/foil/corkscrew is not necessarily all that necessary, and indeed loses its appeal quite rapidly.
After one gets accustomed to the ease of access---and gets comfortable with new traditions replacing the old traditions---wrestling with all that folderol becomes almost fustian, quaintly Edwardian, smacking of waistcoats and watchfobs over large bellies.
I know some people like that. And I confess that I do occasionally. But I also appreciate...very much appreciate....excellence in design, and form following function. And in that sense, the function of the aesthetics of the screwcap is vastly more appropriate than is the cork.
And now that I am deeply immersed into the intricacies of "A Short History of Wine", and the transitions that occurred over the ages (as well as the accompanying reluctance to accept them), I'm even more convinced that the "closure controversy" will be resolved much more quickly than most people think and even the cork fanatics will soon wonder what all the fuss and fury was about.
