There are some debates and discussions that simply appear to go around in circles, and never reach any definitive conclusion. For example, I often write about the various studies that are conducted advising us which foods we should or shouldn’t eat, or perhaps whether a moderate daily consumption of wine can be beneficial to our health or not. It seems that there is always one ‘expert’ or another who is willing to dispel our popular beliefs (or perhaps simply to contradict expert advice of the past). In the end, we can only scratch our heads, not really knowing what to do, and make our own decisions based on common sense and experience.

This week the discussion about wine closures has come to the fore again, as Davis University in California embarks on yet another study on the effectiveness (or not) of screw caps. Backed by a local Napa Valley winery, this two year project will at least use new equipment in the form of a CT scanner, to measure the wine’s evolution. A professor of Davis was apparently quoted as saying “Oxygen is the biggest culprit for wine — it affects taste, colour and the ageing process” – which I have to admit did not come as any great shock to me.

Thus, using my own common sense for a moment, I can tell you that we will not be making any changes to our own tried and tested (Nomacorc) closures at any time in the near future. In the words of one of my very favourite quotes “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!”

There are some debates and discussions that simply appear to go around in circles, and never reach any definitive conclusion. For example, I often write about the various studies that are conducted advising us which foods we should or shouldn’t eat, or perhaps whether a moderate daily consumption of wine can be beneficial to our health or not. It seems that there is always one ‘expert’ or another who is willing to dispel our popular beliefs (or perhaps simply to contradict expert advice of the past). In the end, we can only scratch our heads, not really knowing what to do, and make our own decisions based on common sense and experience.

This week the discussion about wine closures has come to the fore again, as Davis University in California embarks on yet another study on the effectiveness (or not) of screw caps. Backed by a local Napa Valley winery, this two year project will at least use new equipment in the form of a CT scanner, to measure the wine’s evolution. A professor of Davis was apparently quoted as saying “Oxygen is the biggest culprit for wine — it affects taste, colour and the ageing process” – which I have to admit did not come as any great shock to me.

Thus, using my own common sense for a moment, I can tell you that we will not be making any changes to our own tried and tested (Nomacorc) closures at any time in the near future. In the words of one of my very favourite quotes “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!”