Wine, wine, wine...

Here's a good one. Drink wine. Drink plenty of wine! But make sure the bottle has got a cork stopper. Not a plastic stopper or a screw top, but a cork one!

Here's why...

Plastic stoppers are a by-product of the petroleum industry. A large amount of energy goes into making them and their manufacture also causes pollution.

The manufacture of metal screw tops also causes pollution and uses up energy.

The alternative is cork. Cork is a renewable resource - it is harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree, but the tree is left unharmed. Spain and Portugal are the biggest exporters of this natural product. There's an extra benefit from using cork too. Because the trees are not cut down, the ancient woodlands are left intact - and they are an important habitat for endangered species such as the Iberian lynx and the Spanish imperial eagle.

Unfortunately, the supermarkets of the UK, one of the biggest importers of wine in the world want to replace corks with plastic stoppers or screw tops because they believe that corks account for one in ten bottles of wine being tainted. However, many sources refute this claim and suggest that the contamination that causes taint can be picked up anywhere along the manufacturing process.

For more information click here and here.

So, what I'm going to do is make sure that whenever I buy wine it will come in a cork stoppered bottle. However, I know this isn't easy as the cork is usually covered by foil, so I'm going to write to Tesco and ask them to start labelling their bottles so I can decide whether to leave it on the shelf or take it home and have a nice bit of tipple. I'll let you know how I get on! Hic!
Good health!
caldini

Update: To see the view from the pro-plastic stopper side of the argument, read this article.

Update 2: I've just been shopping at Tesco and noticed that their "Finest" range of wines describe the kind of stopper used on the label of the bottle. And it said "Natural cork". Hurrah! I decided to vote with my feet and bought a bottle. Unfortunately, I was so keen to express my delight that I forgot to check the price and came home with an £8.99 bottle of wine. At least it tasted good. I'll write to Tesco and thank them for letting me have a choice!