Is it a Cork if it's Not Cork? The New Synthetic Wine Bottle Stoppers

When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.
~Aristophanes

Cork from specific trees found in Portugal and the Mediterranean region have corked wine since the seventeenth century. The bark of cork trees is harvested every 9 to12 years. Cork trees are not ready for bark harvesting until they are at least 25 years old. The bark is not suitable for wine corks until the third harvest. Cork trees can be harvested around 15 times in their lifecycle.

There are 17 billion bottles of wine produced every year, so keeping up with the cork demand is nearly impossible. Enter the synthetic plastic wine bottle stopper. It can't be a cork because it isn't cork. Synthetics now seal approximately 9 percent of the wine produced yearly. So that's about a billion synthetic "corks" a year.

Does it affect the quality of the wine?  There is some concern that the synthetic stoppers may leech chemicals into the wine over time. Synthetics are intended mostly for short term wine - not the type that is aged for years before being ready to drink. The aging process of red wines involves miniscule air contact, which is not possible with the synthetic stoppers so they may oxidize more quickly.

Three is an issue with cork corks that is absent with the synthetic stoppers: 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) which sounds much worse than it is. TCA is a fungus that grows in cork and it can taint the wine. Wine spoiled because of the presence of TCA in the cork is know as "corked" wine, and is generally not palatable. It is not harmful, it just makes the wine smell and taste bad.

Synthetic stoppers are generally intended for use with wine that will be consumed in less than 5 years. Ultimately, conserving wine for long periods of time is the goal, so synthetics just don't seem to be the best option. Synthetics on the other hand, do not crumble or break.

There are also cultural  reverberations. Cork as part of the wine experience is elegant and traditional. I can't see much point in snorting over a synthetic stopper. Synthetic stoppers will take a large percentage of the fun out of wine snobbery.

It seems that only time will tell which wine stopping method will prevail.

Note: The what kind of cork is best argument seems to be isolated to red wine.

Something else I learned: Wine does not turn to vinegar no matter what corking method is used. (I guess it just smells like it.) Other wine myths.