Why not?

[Bucko]

Here is part of an article that I wrote for the Olympian on the subject. Hope it helps:

Put a cork in it!
Or do we really want to?

Natural cork is quite remarkable. It is lightweight, elastic and impermeable to air and liquids. Cork is the bark of Quercus Suber, the cork oak tree, which grows in the Western Mediterranean. Portugal is the leading producer of cork, producing over 50% of the world's supply, followed by Spain and North Africa. Cork bark is harvested from trees that are at least 25 years of age. Once the cork is removed, it takes nine to ten years for the tree to regrow its bark. The cork is aged for several months, then processed, sorted, and sliced into strips. Individual corks are punched out, go through a washing process, then they are dried to 8% moisture to help prevent mold growth.

Corks can easily become contaminated with native mold. If left to grow on the cork, the mold can produce a byproduct during the processing and washing called TCA (trichloroanisole). While it will ruin your wine, TCA is harmless to the consumer. Wine tainted by a bad cork will develop a damp cellar or musty aroma. Wet cardboard or dank flavors overwhelm the wine's nuances and rob it of its fruit. This is referred to as a "corked" wine. The human threshold levels for TCA can vary widely among individuals. Experienced tasters can detect TCA in parts per trillion, while others will only pick it up in parts per billion. Even if you cannot identify the corkiness, the wine will seem dull and lifeless, with little fruit. Don’t be shy about sending a wine back if you encounter this at a restaurant.

Estimates are that 5-6% of all wines produced become corked. Wineries are beginning to look for other options. In a bold move, Northern California producer, PlumpJack Winery, unveiled its 1997 Reserve Cabernet. The wine sells for $135 a bottle and will feature a screw-top cap instead of the traditional cork.

Consumers have always associated screw-caps with cheap, inferior wine. There is no "romance" involved with opening a wine with a screw-top, no fancy corkscrew, no age-old tradition, and this has been a cause of resistence to the closure. However, screw-cap polymer liners have an extremely long track record in the food and wine industry for neutrality and stability.

Seeking a middle-ground, many wineries have switched to synthetic corks. This retains tradition of wine ceremony without the worry of corked wines. The synthetic closure is made of a FDA-approved thermoplastic elastomer that is also known for its use in heart valves and catheters. Though the jury is still out, it is thought that synthetic corks will keep wines fresh for at least 20 years.