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Comment by luckman212 | Hacker News Reader

Haven't had time to read the article (yet)—but I'm hoping the headline means those soulless synthetic corks that I'm always disappointed to find when peeling away the foil of an otherwise enjoyable bottle of wine will be disappearing.

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I haven't seen one in the UK for a few years now, I'm happy to say. I really don't see the point. If you don't want to use a cork, screw caps are a thing.

I actually would rather synthetic or screw tops, but I'm mostly into whisk(e)y not wine. Corks can fail way more than other options. I do like a nice cork pop though.

Plus cork taint is no fun (yes, that happens with whiskey too, it's a myth it can't)

Also another down side of spirits being capped with a cork is that at higher ABVs they can slowly disolve the cork ... (Not sure when that starts to happen, but I believe 40% ABV can)

> cork taint

Thanks for providing me with my newest G-rated insult

Just to make sure I increase knowledge, cork taint is a very specific thing, it's from a chemical called TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole) not just something corks do.

The synthetic corks became more popular because cork taint, a fungal infection, became more frequent. They've figured out a way to prevent it, so natural cork should make more of a comeback.

Also, because they're cheaper.

Agglomerated corks like DIAM tend to be preferable for wine, as they are processed to remove TCA (which is responsible for “corked” wine). Natural cork is not actually that great because of the presence of TCA and the natural variance in oxygen permeability, which is not very helpful when storing wine for a long time.

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