Leaving behind some real hangups.
There are few things that can stir up such strong opinions in the wine world about such a simple object as the synthetic cork. They have been rapidly gaining support especially in new wine markets such as Australia, South Africa, Argentina, and California. These places are perfect for such a revolution since they have so much less engrained culture to overcome when adopting new standards. We have seen many bottles sealed with synthetic corks and have definitely formed opinions of our own.
Typically corks are fabricated from the bark of a cork tree, 30% of which are grown in Portugal. Depending on the quality of the tree and the depth the cork came from the quality of each can differ substantially. It is also widely estimated that 5-10% of wines bottled with natural cork spoil either from contamination of the cork itself or from an incomplete seal allowing air to get in and oxidizing the wine. And while plastic corks have been used in the sparkling wine industry for many years, it is taking longer to win over support in the more traditional areas, especially fibe red wines.
The simple truth is the only substantial difference between real and synthetic corks is you are much more likely to get a spoiled bottle with a real cork. The level of quality and consistency of real cork continues to waver especially as more regions of the world dedicate more land to growing grapes and bottling wine. Given the limited range of the cork tree it is unlikely that supply will get better as more wine is bottled. And in order to protect the investment, synthetic corks are the better option.
Many wine lovers complain of losing a part of the experience when they pull a cork out of the bottle and discover it is "fake". This may be in large part due to the newness we still have with these corks, and likely will subside as more world class wines are bottled with synthetic cork.
Our advice is if you are bottling your own wine, seriously consider using synthetic corks yourself and you will fully appreciate the ease of use and protection they offer wine. And if you uncork a bottle with a "plastic" plug, do no judge it harshly based on such a simple feature, rather fully enjoy the smell, look, and flavor of the wine and confidently pour a full glass knowing it is highly unlikely to have suffered any oxidation or spoilage during storing.
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