NEW TWIST IN THE STOPPER DEBATE

FOR YEARS debates have raged as to the proper closure for wine bottles. Now, the cork industry has come up with a new-style stopper to halt the wine industry’s search for alternatives. Called the Helix, it ‘twists to open’ and uses a special glass bottle with an internal threaded neck with a corresponding cork – so no corkscrew needed. Portugal’s Amorim, the world’s largest cork stopper maker, will have new-stopper bottles on the shelves in France next year. Communications head Carlos de Jesus said  “It retains the technical capabilities and the environmental advantages of cork with added convenience. It is for bottles in the 5-1O Euros (US $6.75-$15.5O) range, to be drunk within three or so years of production.” He added “We are not really worried about losing our share of the market, 71% of bottles still have cork stoppers.”