Do screwcaps diminish a gift wine? [Poll]

The other day I gave a friend a bottle of red wine as a gift, complete with a Santa wine bag that I got on sale after last Christmas. As I was slipping it in the bag, I saw that the wine was closed wit a screwcap, not a cork. Suddenly, I thought that it diminished my gift. But it was too late to give it a second thought as we were already out the door.

What do you say? Even if you like screwcaps for your own wine, have screwcaps gone mainstream enough that they’re not a stigma for gift wine? Let us know using the snazzy new poll software!

[poll id=”2″]

18 Responses to “Do screwcaps diminish a gift wine? [Poll]”


  1. There is certainly a perceived correlation between screwcaps and quality. Although there are many very nice whites (Kim Crawford for example) with screwcaps, the majority of quality reds are bottled with corks.


  2. …what was the wine?


  3. It is more demeaning to get wine with that rubber-bullet cork in it.


  4. Hey Mark – It was an Aussie shiraz. My friend loves ’em.


  5. I was going to mention Kim crawford also….consistently awesome Sauv Blanc…but there are lots of great wines out there now with screwcaps. One of my favorite screwcap memories is watching my wife try to open one with a corkscrew…priceless 🙂 So cute. So determined. It finally cured her of the habit of removing a cork through the foil!


  6. I’m finding mo-better wines with screwcaps; especially some southern French wines (my favorite region). However I do give pause when I’m considering giving one as a gift. I still hear, ghostlike, echoes of old giggles from friends over serving something with a screwcap.

    Perhaps a sadder story is one where I was reading so much about the benefits of screwcaps over traditional corks that I looked into investing in the company that made the screwcaps. At the time (the early 2000’s) it was mainly a french company that looked pretty bad financially on paper. So I passed on buying their stock. A few years later, upon waking one morning, I heard on the radio that Alcoa Aluminum had bought the company; when Acloa stock was climbing.

    I think we’ll be seeing even more screwcapped wine in the years to come…..


  7. Ever since Andrew Murray switched on his high-end Syrahs (and I had an email exchange with him about why), I figure it’s the winemaker’s decision. Mind you, it’s not a screwcap, it’s a Stelvin closure!


  8. Screw caps! Love em. Hypothesis: Producers that put their wines under screw cap not only care about delivering their product to the public in an untainted form, but also make a superior product just by the fact they care about this.


  9. As long as it tastes like the Aussie Shiraz you friend loves, it should be just fine. If your friend had a thing for collecting the corks after each bottle, well, then you have more of an issue.


  10. When I purchased my wine Christmas gift for my father the store employee of the wine shop I went to, went out of his way to reassure me that the screw top is just better and modern


  11. Corks are classic, fun, and can be beautiful. Screw-caps automatically make us think of mass production with no intent on the quality and individuality of the wine. But really, corks add more room for error in storage, don’t they?


  12. Some here have noted that their favorite wines have switched to screw caps – Several questions:

    Are screw closure bottles smaller to make up for the headspace of the missing cork? Or is there more air in the bottle? With the capsule-like skirt of the screw cap – I cant tell. My point is the whole bottle is redesigned, but pretends to look like a proper classic wine bottle.

    I went to a corner drugstore, one like you see cropping up in every neighborhood. They had a wine section – with screw capped wines. At some point, someone had placed what appeared to be anti – tamper, molded foam covers over selected bottles with screw-caps. I don’t know why. Were they trying to hide the screw caps? Did they have problems with delinquents breaking the seals? Maybe a local ordinance requiring tamper proof? Maybe store loss- prevention policy? Either way it was OBVIOUS they were post handled (re-packaged) for a purpose, which, though not explained, made me suspect the product(s) being marketed with screw caps.

    If the maker realized the closure would be perceived as a tamper risk in a wider retail venue, Would they have used screw caps? The post-handling or repackaging is costly and further diminished my impression of the delivery.

    I typically don’t buy wine at drugstores. I can understand that a drugstore would be more aware of tamper-proofing products. I have bought wine at Trader Joe’s, and World Market, where more expensive bottles are placed in showcases, behind glass.

    If you want really Modern – Boxed wine is the way to go. More volume efficient, No heavy glass to deliver or break. Nozzle hidden until box is opened. No exposure to air with the collapsing bladder. After its opened – wine keeps longer without needing vacuum stoppers.


  13. It shouldn’t, but it does.


  14. I say no not at all. In fact, I have given Mollydooker wines, all screw caps, as gifts both this year and last. Everyone loved them and had a lot of fun drinking them, and at least I knew no one was probably going to end up with a corked bottle!


  15. The past month, it seems like everywhere I turn people are talking about Mollydooker…they must have great marketing with all that notrogen stuff going on. I suppose I will have to try some.


  16. The past month, it seems like everywhere I turn people are talking about Mollydooker…they must have great marketing with all that nitrogen stuff going on. I suppose I will have to try some.


  17. I’m a bit late with my reply here, but thought I’d chime in. We just did a post holiday survey and one of the comments from someone was along the lines of “I liked the wines in my selection, but it is unfortunate that there were two screw tops…I would be embarrassed to bring those as a gift”

    It shouldn’t, but it definitely matters to people….


  18. It’s about the wine, not the cork. But I suppose it’s also about the recipient’s prejudices.


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