Sunday, August 26, 2007

Coming Un-Corked

Cork vs. Screw
Top: A 'Sustainable' Debate...

I admit that, at first, the thought of screw top wine conjured images of my mom and her girlfriends in 1970's San Francisco, chatting over cigarettes and syrupy sweet "white zinfandel" while listening to Helen Reddy records. It also reminds me of when we moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a few years later, that screw top
Thunderbird or Mad Dog "wine" was the drink of choice for the Indi-bums who hung out in the alley behind my parents' bead shop.

However, in the last few years, when I finally put the stigma aside and screwed the top off some fine vintages from around the world, I learned that they are increasingly used by winemakers to ensure their wines don't become "corked." (Not to mention, they are damn convenient on a picnic!)

Today, though, thoughtful consumers go beyond both style and substance aside... to ask about sustainability. This article by Sarah Skidmore (AP) addresses how screw top wines affect workers in the cork industry, the environment and the future of acres of cork trees.

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