Nobody can argue that bottle tops and wine corks play a vital role in keeping drinks fresh, and they have always done it well very, which is why almost all brands have used very similar designs. Any seasoned drinker will tell you just how many times they have woken up the find hundreds of the things scattered about the place after a big night. Although they have served us well over the years, it now seems that their numbers are up, as more efficient and effective bottle tops like the screw top are taking over.

Bottle caps are traditionally made from steel and the original design had 24 teeth that wrapped around the rim, although more modern caps have around 21 teeth. Whilst they were great at keeping the contents of a bottle fresh, they are a nightmare to get off and unless you have teeth made from granite, you have to use a bottle opener to stand any chance of quenching your thirst. For this reason above all others, the screw top beer bottle has seen an upsurge of popularity in recent years, as they can be taken anywhere and you don't have to drag and bottle opener along with you.

The case is pretty much the same with wine bottle corks, but there are a couple more reasons why corks are being pushed out (no pun intended). A corkscrew used to be a staple part of any tableware set, but its usefulness is dwindling as screw top wine bottles become more popular. In the same way as beer bottles need a bottle opener, wine bottles always required a corkscrew to be close by, and that’s just not always practical. Further to this, corks loose out massively to screw tops when it comes to the storage of wine for prolonged periods. Air can breach the cork as it expands and contracts with different moisture levels in its surroundings, and air can very easily turn a wine bad. Also, it has a tendency to break up over time if the wine is stored horizontally, as it often is on a wine rack, resulting in the wine sometimes being ‘corked’ when served. Some may argue that nothing can be as good as the classic bottle top and cork designs, although all the evidence suggests that superior products are taking over in their place.

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