I probably qualify as one of those "winies" that shroomgirl refers to (great term, by the way!) - I keep a modest cellar (1,000 bottles, mostly classified-growth Bordeaux and California cabs) and drink a bottle with dinner every night. I also like to get together with like-minded friends for blind tastings, where nothing counts but the wine itself.

Most of my winie friends and I long ago stopped judging wine by the closure, label, etc. - we're only interested in how it tastes. Most of us also discard one bottle in twenty, sometimes almost one in ten (Riojas are a particular problem, in my experience), as corked. Synthetic closures eliminate that problem and deliver the wine to you the way the maker intended. Screw caps would probably do better still, and I applaud winemakers who are brave enough to lead in this area.

I've never understood the romance that some people associate with an old piece of tree bark stuffed into the end of bottle, often at the expense of the wine itself.