Cork snobbery is screwy

The much-maligned screw-top - sneered at by wine snobs - retains the flavour better, experts claim.

More than 50 tasters tried 40 wines sealed in four different ways - with natural corks, synthetic corks, screw-tops and crown-caps. They knew which wine they were trying but not the sealing method.

The panel - including renowned wine consultant Michel Rolland - preferred the screw-cap sample in 21 out of 40 cases, while cork-sealed wine came top only once.

Crown caps - similar to beer-bottle tops - also emerged victorious on one occasion, while no significant difference was found in all the other wines. Non-cork seals do not flavour or 'cork' the wine and efficiently protect it from the air, wine writer Robert Joseph told Wine International Magazine. The idea wine needed to breathe was discredited, he added.