By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor, and Tom Mansell, Science Editor Serious wine consumers are not, generally speaking, fans of synthetic cork. Most recoil at the sight of a plastic cork being pulled from a bottle they had otherwise been excited to open. Is this bias unfair? Maybe. Companies are working to improve the quality of synthetic corks. We'll get to that in a bit. But there's no denying that synthetic corks make a clear statement to the serious consumer, whether intended or not. "Cheap," said one of the many tasters on the evening of the recent Finger Lakes Riesling Hour.…