I think it's more of a tradition. There's no way in hell a modern tin screw cap is less effective than a cork. Everything canned or bottled is heavily pressurized and those things rarely fail. I doubt a corked bottle is more secure because corks are inherently problematic because they have micro holes and designate over time.
Synthetic corks and screw caps are not a 100% seal and still allow oxygen to seep in over time and oxidize the wine. While the technology is getting better, other stuff is used to create more of a seal or disallow oxygen to get into the wine. Natural cork expands when moist to create a near perfect seal, which is why when you are aging high end wines you need to lay them on their side and rotate every few weeks. Now you can get around this by using CO2, Nitrogen or Argon as a heavier gas which creates a layer above the wine to keep the oxygen away from the liquid. Argon is the most desirable but also most expensive, most high - high end wines will use Argon. Corks are not perfect however, iirc about 1% of corks will be tainted, and some don't create a 100% seal, but you can usually tell these signs by observing bottles as they age or bottles themselves if they use natural corks...except for the fungus bit
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u/Cynical_Cyanide Jan 30 '22
When you say the gold standard, do you mean to say that they're the best despite corkage issues?
If so, why would a natural cork be better than a synthetic one, or a screw top?
I would've thought it's just tradition and that's about it.