Chinese enter the cork versus screw cap wine war

From the drinkster blog: a must read from Philip White.

We already fought this war!

Hey, hey TCA: how many

wines did you spoil today?
by PHILIP WHITE

There's a lot of excited popping around the cork business lately. The bark merchants can smell money.
Because China still thinks wine is a quaint and old fashioned luxury, its merchants and sommeliers insist on wine being corked. Many Australian winemakers who have been entirely happy with screwcaps but are keen to sell wine in China are suddenly having to remember how to phone the blokes who sell the old Portuguese bark plugs.
Small premium producers who don't have the volumes to justify bottling under both closures, to offer customers a choice, are finding themselves hoping that Australian wine lovers who have become accustomed to the convenience and reliability of screwcap will suddenly overlook their return to cork. The new Chinese agent wants cork; everybody's gotta have cork.
This is on the nose.

And then some interesting detail on corks and screw tops from Philip. A great piece that deserves being read in full.