Oregon Public Broadcasting

Northwest wine drinkers are well familiar with the ongoing debate over corks versus screwtops.  Now there’s a third way.  About half-a-dozen area wineries have switched to glass stoppers.  Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

NW wineries using glass “corks” include Syncline, Sineann, Solena, Barking Frog, Cor Cellars, and NW Totem Cellars.

Columbia Gorge winemaker James Mantone lost patience with natural cork about five years ago.

James Mantone: “It’s no longer acceptable with these good alternatives to be selling consumers a product that we know has anywhere from a 3 to 12 percent failure rate.”

The co-owner of Syncline Winery briefly considered plastic corks, before settling on the reliable seal offered by the screwtop.  Then Mantone switched again.

Now the majority of his bottles are topped with a glass stopper.  The European innovation has a silicone O-ring to make a seal.

James Mantone: “We were looking for something to upscale the presentation a little bit over the screwtop.”

No corkscrew required either way.  Mantone says the cost of the glass “Vino-Seal” is about the same as top-of-the-line cork.

About half a dozen Northwest wineries are now using the recyclable closure.