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With the launching of a new sparkling wine which comes in a screw top bottle instead of being fitted with the traditional cork, we ask do we need our champagne corks to go pop?
The popping of a champagne cork can mark the birth of a child or a couple getting married, a student graduating or a job promotion and has a certain amount of romance to it.
De Bortoli has launched its Willowglen Sparkling Brut NV with a resealable screw top making it easy to open and better at retaining
carbonation, but will it catch on?
The move could be a useful one for the hospitality industry where champagne and sparkling wine is sold by the glass. It would mean that should a bottle be opened and not used on the same day then the last glass will be just as carbonated as the first one to have come out. This would result in less wastage and greater customer satisfaction, but there is something about the nature of sparkling wine and the fact that this is an issue that adds to its value.
The popping of the cork is special and if this is taken away then so is some of its appeal, which may mean there is less demand for it.
Customers may well be suspicious of sparkling wine which comes out of a screw topped bottle and believe they have been short changed by the restaurant or bar where they are being served. Steven Pike, director of the Mystery Dining Company, said: "Of course we need champagne corks to go pop - it's part of the experience! That's like asking 'why do we need meals to be served to our table?'"
Customers may be prepared to drink sparkling wine from a screw topped bottle when they are out, but at home they are bound to want to pop the cork and bask in the luxury which such a sound represents.
