Scientists to find if wine in corked bottles taste better

Oxford scientists are set to resolve a long-standing dispute over whether wine tastes better when stored in bottles with corks or screw caps.

In a unique wine tasting event in London last week, researchers studied the brains of volunteers while they took a sip of different wines.

Taste, like other senses, is subjective and may vary from person to person. Researchers from Oxford University in the UK decided to attach sensors on the heads of tasters while they sip.

The sensors monitor brain pleasure responses and translate them into numbers that can be used for comparison purposes.

The researchers will also be looking at other factors that might be related to how we register the taste of wine, such as whether hearing the cork pop induces greater enjoyment or if smelling the wine before drinking has any impact, 'Phys.org' reported.

Corks allow the wine to "breathe" - fresh air enters the bottle while air inside gets out.

However screw caps protect the wine from a fungus that is responsible for ruining about 20 per cent of bottled wine.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)