New twist for wine lovers

The news will send a shiver down the spine of wine snobs - screwcap bottles, once the epitome of naff, are to be used by Britain's most popular brand.

Gallo has decided that plastic corks do not keep wine fresh for long enough and are preparing to relaunch the Ernst and Julio Gallo range in bottles with a screwcap.

And experts believe it will not be long before the traditional "plop" of a cork emerging from the bottle becomes a thing of the past. Pamela Massingham, from the industry bible, Drinks International, said: "The plastic corks have been used mainly for wine which is bottled, exported and drunk quickly. But producers have found that plastic corks let the air in. Screwcaps keep a bottle airtight and many producers are switching to them. It appears that screwcaps are going to become widespread before long."

Gallo, the Californian wine giant, has decided to break consumers in gently and will provide both corked and screwcap bottles to begin with. Ian Belcher, the company's UK marketing controller, said that they would see how popular the screwcaps prove to be.

"There has been much debate as to the merits of cork versus screwcap," he said. "We believe the consumer should be given the option. We are planning a trial of screwcap closures on our premium Turning Leaf brand. We will be monitoring results carefully to allow us to make informed decisions on the screwcap debate."

At present, millions of bottles of wines are ruined when natural corks rot, making the drink taste bitter. Now, a breakthrough in technology means wine producers are better off turning to the twist-off lid. The Wine Institute of New Zealand says that eight per cent of producers now use the lids for wines on some of the New World's most prestigious bottlings.

But many French producers are less enthused, fearing consumers will miss the tradition of pulling the cork. Charles Sichel, one of the owners of claret producer, Chateaux Palmer, said they would never switch to screwcaps.

Their wine, which sells for £60 a bottle in the UK, needs to mature - a process which needs a traditional cork.

"We wouldn't dream of putting our wines in a bottle with a screwcap," said Mr Sichel. "Our wines need eight to 10 years in a bottle before they show their full potential and would suffocate in a screwcap bottle. Screwcaps are great for wines which are to be drunk sooner, but they would not be right for us."