![Screwcap](http://www.soorganic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/screwcap.jpg)
It seems this is not the case at all.
"People may have heard misguided campaigns before... there was one about eight years ago, claiming cork harvesting was destroying a vital habitat. In fact, it's preserving it." Vanessa Linforth, who manages the Soil Association's forestry programme for the Mediterranean recently commented to the BBC.
![Cork Harvest](http://www.soorganic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/cork-harvest-269x300.jpg)
Wildlife surrounding the trees can, if fact, flourish. Farming cork is actually quite a sustainable practice and has prevented desertification from creeping in to areas of the Mediterranean where it is sadly becoming more prevalent.
Metal screw caps and plastic bottle stops are not the greener answer. They also don't make for a better tasting wine. Wine is able to breathe a little when a cork is used as a very small amount of oxygen seeps through, allowing a fine wine to age better.