by Bob Campbell MW and Joel B. Payne
Keith Stewart, a New Zealand wine columnist, has unleashed Pandora’s box by issuing a health warning and claiming that there may be a link between the plastic seal in a screwcap and increasing risk of breast cancer. The worrying substance is
Polyvinylidenchloride that is used to ensure a waterproof closure. It use is allowed for foods by governmental authorities in both the European Union and the United States. As 80% of all wines from New Zealand, and almost all Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, use screwcaps, the industry accuses Stewart of using scare tatics to stem the use of this closure.
