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The cultivation of the grape and the fermenting of wine go back thousands of years into human history. There are many European vineyards that can trace the origin of their family business back across the centuries for many, many generations, with each new generation learning the techniques and secrets of their ancestors while searching for incremental improvements to add their own stamp to future vintages.

Changes can take many forms, whether it’s introducing a new grape to family plots, expanding existing vineyards for higher capacity, bringing modern technology into the process, developing a new blend, or even just finding new markets for the existing products.

One of the more controversial of the changes that are occurring in the wine industry today is the use of, and experimentation with different materials for sealing the wine bottle. The vast majority of traditionalists say that there is absolutely no substitute for natural cork. The cork allows just the right amount of breathing to occur between the wine and the outside air. It also provides a satisfying tactile experience upon opening the bottle. From the smell of the cork after the bottle is opened, experienced wine drinkers can tell immediately if a wine has spoiled while in the bottle.

With the vast quantities of wine being produced and sold around the world today, however, cork supplies are not always so easy to come by. This has led to a variety of other options being tried. We are all familiar with the screw top cap, and most associate this with very cheap wines. The main problem with a metal screw cap on a wine bottle is that is seals too well. There is no gas exchange at all between the inside and the outside of the sealed bottle when an ordinary metal screw cap is used. For cheap wines that aren’t meant to sit around, that probably doesn’t matter. Flavored blends and four dollar grocery store wines are not going to develop any more character or improve with age no matter how perfectly the bottle is capped, so metal screw tops are fine for them.

Richer, more complex wines, on the other hand, do develop over time, and the very minute amount of pressure regulation and gas exchange allowed by a porous cork are instrumental in regulating that aging for the best effect. Yet, scientifically, it is possible to determine exactly what is happening in terms of the cork. Fine instruments can measure literally molecule by molecule any gases passes through the cork. Once this data is in hand, it is possible to recreate “corks” from artificial materials that have identical or nearly identical properties.

Some wine-makers are already using a plastic cork synthesized to mimic the properties of real cork materials. These plastic corks can even be removed with any conventional corkscrew just like a real cork. With the added advantage of a greater cohesive strength to prevent the new cork from fragmenting as can occasionally happen with real corks.

As the amount of wine being consumed continues to grow, suitable substitutes for natural cork will need to be adopted by more and more of the old vintners. Those using scientific principles to ensure that their new materials behave the way they intend will have the advantage.