Difference in storage between cork and screw-top?

Hey all. This is my first post.

I would have joined this forum earlier but for some reason I never received confirmation emails after trying to create an account multiple times. It finally went through, though.

My questions are:

Do screw tops age differently than cork sealed bottles?

Do screw tops gain anything from being stored sideways?

My thoughts are that cork bottles lie sideways so that the cork does not dry out, and this prevents faster oxidation. If so, a screw top does not saturate and there would be no problem of oxidation. Therefore, for aging, it would not benefit a sideways position. Opinions?

Hi Daniel and welcome aboard. The jury is still out on aging with a screw top. As far as storage is concerned you can store the screwtops upright, but most people have horizontal storage and keep them that way, so there is no need to go out and purchase new storage.

I would store screw-top wines vertically if that's possible. The reason: if you store the bottle horizontally, the wine will be in contact with the plastic seal. This increases the possibility of the seal degrading. With vertical storage the ullage (air space in the bottle) is in contact with the seal.

It's just the opposite of what you want to do with bottles sealed by a cork.

-Paul W.

Paul, what do you think about the aging effect, though? faster or shorter with screw tops?

[Robin Garr]

Paul, what do you think about the aging effect, though? faster or shorter with screw tops?

Welcome, Daniel! That's a million-dollar question, one that will probably take more research to answer with certainty. It seems likely, however, that a sound screwcap will permit less oxygen transfer than a cork, thus slower aging and, perhaps, different aging. That said, there's been sufficient time now for a fair amount of experience, and researchers Down Under, in particular, seem to have abundant evidence that ageworthy wines under screwcap can age well.

Paul, what do you think about the aging effect, though? faster or shorter with screw tops?

Welcome, Daniel! That's a million-dollar question, one that will probably take more research to answer with certainty. It seems likely, however, that a sound screwcap will permit less oxygen transfer than a cork, thus slower aging and, perhaps, different aging. That said, there's been sufficient time now for a fair amount of experience, and researchers Down Under, in particular, seem to have abundant evidence that ageworthy wines under screwcap can age well.

And to expand on Robin's comments, becasue there is less oxygen permeation, sulphur chemistry will be different in identical wines, one under cork and another under screwcap. That may mean nothing for certain varieties but may mean a lot for others.
There is much to learn yet about screwcap closures and their effectiveness over time.
One thing's for sure though - less corked wines.
Best, Jim

Thanks for the replies.

My personal experience so far leads me to think that I'd be perfectly happy if every bottle in my cellar magically became screwcapped.
As nearly as I can tell, screwcaps simply don't care in what orientation they're stored - right side up, upside down, sideways, or anywhere in between.
Aging seems to me (8 years now on screwcaps from David Coffaro) to be more uniform - less bottle variation - than corks, and proceeds at a noticeably slower but more uniform rate. IOW, what I expected in 3 years now takes about 5 years; My '03s (first screwcap vintage at Coffaro) feel like 5 years from vintage instead of 8 years. I don't have enough of any particular wine to do a bottle-a-year experiment, but I am building a vertical of a couple of my favorites.
Maybe we'll have to organize a party!

John

I have not had time to read the article yet but the latest issue of Practical Winery and Vineyard has an article on the factors in closure selection. Luckily for this thread it is one of the articles you can read free on their website (http://www.practicalwinery.com/winter2011/closure1.htm.

[David M. Bueker]

The oldest screw capped wines in my cellar date back to 2002. I would estimate that I now have over 300 bottles with screw caps mostly from producers in Germany, Austria and California. Most of mine tend to be stored upright in cases out of convenience. A few are in the racks, including the oldest bottles (2002, 2003). The only risk I see in racking the bottles is the chance of knocking around the caps which can (rarely) damage the seals, leading to leakage/spoilage.

I don't have any really age-worthy wines with screwcaps - yet - but when I do I would guess that another benefit would be the collection of sediment without the need to stand a corked bottle upright several days before the anticipated drinking date.