screwcaps

[anacostiakat]

» i see a disparaging comment about screwcaps.

» what do members think - i'll bet that this changes very much with

» geography.

I prefer screwcaps. Mainly because they are easier for me to open and that is really all I care about. :-D

[JMH]

» Ken- I missed this post- I see it was dated from our afternoon on the deck

I think you might be a year off ;-)

[Ethernut]

To screw or not to screw, that is the question!

*grin*

I amazes me there could be so much input on whether to screwcap or not. :-P

The Ether..

[Ken Gargett]

yes rob, good manners prevent me from making the obvious jokes about cowgirls fans being a year behind the times.

[Ken Gargett]

» iv'e dragged a ghost back up, there is a bottle of bordeaux which uses a

» screw cap, of course no good for aging, but is a good table wine, i think

» screw caps lower the prestige of having a bottle at dinner, some people

» say they love corking a bottle or smelling the cork to sample the flavours

» of the immaculate bouquet? if you want a table wine, buy a screw top, not

» for aging.

i could not disagree more strongly. i have done endless tastings involving corks and screwcaps, sometimes going back over decades (in australia, we went through a period in the late 70's/early 80s where quite a bit of riesling was placed under screwcap - there alone is all the proof you'd need. the wines under cork from those vintages and either side have not held up anywhere near as well as those under screwcap - an astonishing difference). we often do verticals where say the last five vintages are under screwcap. the wines under cork are all over the place, some terrific and some duds, whereas as soon as we hit screwcap, the consistency and often quality, takes a leap.

i know that the guys behind grange would love it under screwcap, if only the management/marketing would allow. hill of grace is under screwcap and the henschkes don't do anything like that lightly.

i have absolutely no doubt that wines under screwcap will age magnificently (there are possible reduction issues but that is up to the winemaker to get right and not an inherent fault in the closure). i would be happy if every wine i ever bought from now was under screwcap.

the old saying that 'there are no great old wines, only great old bottles' has been exposed. it should have been there are only great bottles when there were great corks. they have led to so much wastage of good wine and so much inconsistency.

viva la screwcap!

[JMH]

» there are possible reduction issues

Do you mean reduction as in redox reactions?

[Bernard]

Years ago I was very anti screwcap. Until far too many of my good wines were tainted by cork. I still enjoy the romance of a cork, but nowdays it is impractical. I want the wine to taste like wine and the only way to garantee that - for me - is screwcap. More and more South African farms are going to screwcap. If the top end estates carry on, everyone will follow.

[eriksson20]

ciao

the cork is not hard to open, atleast i have not crossed a bottle that i considered inconvienient or complicated. if your wine is tainted by a flawed cork then report it and get a new one. but most of all you should choose your wine through your heart, not with brain...

a good old Spanish Rioja area wines are exellent btw

could not care less about cork or screw... i am truly amazed how big a difference that seems to make for people

sorry

peace out

[Cam]

I disagree with your disagreement, though you probably know more, about drinking it that is, I tend to lean toward the cap because i know for a fact my corked bottles taste better than the screwcap, sorry kenny old boy!

[Cam]

the top estates wont carry on, they dont like screwcaps, if anyone knows phillipe faury, well then lets just say hes a very famous producer of cotes-du-rhone, he wont go anti cork.

[Cam]

could not care less about cork or screw... i am truly amazed how big a difference that seems to make for people

well im a collector, bottles with corks age better in my opinion and always seem to fetch a higher price, probably because the better vintages are post screw cap era, no body break my neck its an opinion.

[Jimmy2]

Wine to some is an investment and for pleasure for me it is a little of both and for both those reasons the screw cap will insure them both in the long term.

As a wine drinker i want only a great tasting wine really don't care what kind of cork it is.

[Colt45]

» if your wine is tainted by a flawed cork then report it and get a new one.

»

That's one of the points....... How do you return a 1st growth bordeaux from 1982?

Or as Skid pointed out in his sad tale last year, a CASE of St. Henri from 1963?

[Stalebread]

I mentioned this thread to my wife, the packaging engineer.

She asked if the caps were plastic or aluminum.

I assume aluminum but, not being sure, I said I'd ask.

So . . . aluminum? Or plastic?

[Ken Gargett]

» I mentioned this thread to my wife, the packaging engineer.

» She asked if the caps were plastic or aluminum.

» I assume aluminum but, not being sure, I said I'd ask.

» So . . . aluminum? Or plastic?

they are based on aluminium but have a wad on the inside so you don't get that tinny taste of canned beer.

understand the concept of investment but if down the track, screwcaps prove themselves as so many believe they will, then the pendulum will swing away from corks for investment as well.

there will be much resistance from some producers, particulalry old school european, but when the market swings, they will follow, in time. we saw that in australia where screwcaps were accepted, this time, far quicker than anyone every imagined it would. britain is gaining momentum. it will happen.

[eriksson20]

How do you return a 1st growth bordeaux

» from 1982?

» Or as Skid pointed out in his sad tale last year, a CASE of St.

» Henri from 1963?

Point taken, thanks Colt45...

[eriksson20]

» Wine to some is an investment and for pleasure for me it is a little of

» both and for both those reasons the screw cap will insure them both in the

» long term.

»

» As a wine drinker i want only a great tasting wine really don't care what

» kind of cork it is.

hi ther Jimmy2,

i see your point

there seems to be an awful lot of points to this question, and there will never be a final answer... this is all based on the angle viewed from and the likes and dislikes of every single individual.

Immanuel Kant once said that there is no point in arguing matters of taste.

i tend to argee, since there are as many right answers as the are people. subjectivity sucks ass...

peace out

[skid11]

I've been raised on cork and I must admit it is taking me a bit longer to come around to seeing screw caps on old traditional wine makers' bottles.

Yes it's by far a better "sealing" process and no one likes to pour good wine down the sink because of dodgy corks. I once helped a vey sad mate pour a whole case of Penfolds 1963 St Henri Claret down the sink, mind you we tried every bottle and even tried to convince ourselves that the vinegar aroma wasn't too bad.........yuck a very sad day.

It is only fitting that the sealing process comes of age, along with all the technological advances in wine making it is pointless to persist with a romantic endeavour that puts the main product (and not the packaging) at risk.

Penfolds Grange Hermitage with a screw cap ? might take a bit of getting used to but I concide it's inevitable,warranted and essential .......... It costs too much to gamble with.

Once the cork or cap is off and it's in the glass it's the quality and taste of the wine that's important.

Wine corks & 35mm film cameras changed the world but better things lay ahead.

Goodbye trusty ol' wine cork puller I'll still love you.:-(