Why wine tastes better when it's sealed with a cork

It is the sound of the cork that makes the drink taste better. Photo / 123RF

Wine traditionalists have long looked down on screw-top bottles, and now an Oxford University study suggests wine really does taste better if it is sealed with a cork.

However, the reason is perhaps surprising. The scientists' findings suggest that rather than affecting the flavour or the smell of the wine, it is the sound of the cork that makes the drink taste better.

The study, by a team at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory headed by psychologist Professor Charles Spence, involved 140 participants.

They were asked to sample two Argentinian Malbecs - a Terrazas de los Andes, and a Catena - after listening to the sound of a cork being opened, and then after listening to a screw-top bottle being opened.

They were then asked to resample the wines after opening bottles sealed with both corks and screw-tops themselves, unaware that they were trying the same wines, but sealed differently. Asked to rate the ambience, sound, aroma and sight of the two wines, participants rated the bottles sealed with a cork as 15 per cent better in quality. Overall, 113 participants said that they preferred a wine with a cork, and 13 the screw top.

Spence said the research demonstrated that senses such as taste were amplified by how we "hear, see and feel" about certain products.

"Our senses are intrinsically linked - what we hear, see and feel has a huge effect on what we taste," he said. "The sound and sight of a cork being popped sets our expectations before the wine has even touched our lips, and these expectations then anchor our subsequent tasting experience."

The findings are unlikely to end the debate over whether a cork or screw-top is superior, however. Whilst cork stoppers have been used in winemaking since the 18th century, the issue of "cork taint" has led some sommeliers and wine drinkers to opt for screw-tops.