Yesterday I was talking about screwcaps and their faults, but tonight I opened a bottle of a pretty decent wine (yes, with a cork!) and poured it into my glass. I paused while I got the movie started … Men In Black … and suddenly I got a whiff.

It was spreading around the room. I could smell the effects from half a metre away within a minute or two.

I was worried, but maybe it was a damp cloth? A stray walnut?

No!

A smell of the glass confirmed it all. Like a concoction made from concentrated damp cardboard, liquidised walnuts, and the merest hint of a blackberry juice that has been left open for a week.

No closure ‘technology’ is infallible (as even the technical screwcap showed) but this was one of the most “failed” of any I have come across for a LONG time. I rarely bother, but this one’s going back to the shop!