Merum: A few weeks ago, Paul Pontallier from Château Margaux was thinking about possibly equipping his second wine, Pavillon Rouge, with a screw cap soon. Will the screw cap continue to replace the natural cork in the next few years?
Jung: I don't think the screw cap will ever completely replace the natural cork. Winegrowers will continue to use natural cork, especially for high-quality wines, because it has very special physical properties that make it good for sealing bottles. Another advantage is its naturalness. It is made of an ecologically valuable raw material that is no longer used as it was many years ago when it had a kind of monopoly.
Merum: Cork proponents argue that thanks to hygiene and the latest techniques, the TCA problem is getting better and better under control. Is that true? Have bottles with cork defects decreased noticeably in recent years?