1.   As the cost of natural cork stoppers goes up and the bother of cork taint continues to be a problem, more wineries are turning to synthetic closures.

2.   Again, unlike natural corks, the synthetics impart no taste to the wine, good or bad.

3.   It has the look and feel of a natural cork, Watts said.

4.   Natural corks can also suffer from a mold problem called cork taint, which has plagued the wine industry for years.

5.   Not all critics of natural cork have given up on it entirely.

6.   One of the myths that seems to circulate around the wine industry every year or two is a shortage of high quality natural cork for wine stoppers.

7.   Perhaps the next salvo will come from the natural cork producers.

8.   Problem is, synthetic closures are not cheaper than natural corks and consumers are having problems getting them out of the bottle.

9.   Some natural corks have a thin wax coating, so that the cork can be removed easily.

10.   Talk of alternative wine closures has been around for years, but only recently have we seen a significant move away from natural cork for some wines.