Screw Cap Finish Or Finished?

Just curious as to what happened to Wineries going toward using screw cap enclosures. As I scan my cellar, I currently have no Bottles finished with screw caps. I have wines from all different regions of the world, and none with screw caps. I do remember Carlisle had a couple of vintages with a few, but none recently. Has it been dismissed as a fad? Completely in the dark on this and just looking for some feedback.

All I know is they’re dangerous to people walking around barefoot.

In Australia it is hard to find any wine that is not sealed by screwcap such is the desire of the winemaker not to risk their wine with cork.

Sipping on a screw cap finished Loring Divergence from Bersrker Day. Impeccably clean - they always are.

I think you’ll see a lot more Riesling under screwcap in the coming years. I was at a Riesling tasting event last week and there were certainly a few German producers using screwcap. I also talked to a Finger lakes producer who was moving towards screwcaps. You’d be hard pressed to find an Australian Riesling producer that doesn’t use screwcap.

Not finished. I am importing more and more wines under screwcap, and I’m a fan.

I tasted both bottlings of the '12 with my Verdicchio producer last year, and both he and I preferred the one under screwcap; so it isn’t just to do with the lack of corkiness.

It’s a topic of endless debate, no doubt about that… deadhorse At the risk of a flame war from the pro-cork US masses… [pillow-fight.gif]

I’m confident that screwcap use worldwide is increasing steadily, and there are a few different types now, with even the option of differing permeabilities.

For me… as a Kiwi living in Aussie, I’m surrounded by screwcapped wines (inc many European imports under SC just for our market) and I’m happier for it. It’s a no brainer, why would I pay good money for a bottle that has a 5-10% chance of being ruined (or at least tainted) by the closure after all the effort and money I’ve spent carefully cellaring it? I wouldn’t, unless I have no choice.

a) Saying that wines ‘age better under cork’ means nothing due to the huge variability of cork permeability. Wines age properly under screwcap too, and it’s very consistent, maybe a bit slower though on average.
b) Corks ruin far too many potentially great wines.
c) Screwcaps have proven their ability to ‘properly’ age wines time and time again, all around the world, since the late 1970’s. And screwcaps are better now than then.

For comparisons with the same wine under cork and screwcap, if the cork wins, it’s normally on a younger wine where it has let more air in, so the wine is more developed and showing less ‘primary’. If the screwcap wins, it’s normally because the cork has either tainted the wine or allowed a bit too much air in, while the screwcap version remains fresh and vibrant, yet still developing secondary and tertiary aromas over time. Of course exceptions exist, cork CAN work equally well, it’s just that it so very very often doesn’t.

[head-bang.gif] /rantoff [popcorn.gif]

I think it’s a case of market acceptability. As noted above, some markets have been brought around to the degree screwcaps are the norm. In others they’re still viewed with a heavy dose of skepticism. In CA, a few cutting edge producers are using them with acceptance from their customers. That’s a niche, but it’s a foothold. We also are seeing more well regarded wines of certain styles under screwcap in the CA market. We’ll see if this grows into broader acceptance and a critical mass.

One negative is a lot of people were burned with synthetic corks, so they are understandably less trusting of the next-best-thing.

I know some winemakers who are on the fence, but go with cork mostly due logistical convenience. A lot of bottling trucks can’t do them. The prospect at switching appears at-the-moment to them to bring more problems than benefits. That could easily and quickly change.

There does seem to have been a loss of momentum, or at least a lack of discussion. Perhaps that horse has been beat to death and there’s just nothing left to say. I do wish more California producers would bottle under screw cap. I drink all domestic wines <10 years so the aging argument for cork is irrelevant to me. I’ve had a corked $200 Napa Cab and two $100 corked Syrahs in the last 6 months. That is relevant.

Screw caps have a marketing / image problem, but I don’t think it is a fad. Kudos to Loring for continuing to carry the torch. I too rember Mike had bottled the Cardiac Hill IIRC as a set under cork and screw cap. I wish I had saved mine. My intent was to do a side by side after 6-8 years, but I blew that experiment when I accidentally pulled the cork on that a few years ago. I haven’t seen any tasting reports on that release since, but would be very interested in how that played out.

Maybe it’s a conspiracy by the wine cellar and cabinet makers to keep humidity a factor in long term storage. If there’s no cork then there’s no worry about humidity or lack thereof.
:wink:

Good point Bob! Something that deserves more investigation if you ask me! Those S.O.B.s won’t get away with it much longer I hope.

Anyhow, I think TimK nailed it.

We’ve gone to screw-caps and composite/low O2 exchange corks on our whites and roses. We’re very happy with them, especially with the consistency, with most everything. I’m on the fence with Chardonnay, as it retards the development of the wine a bit. I’m contemplating a move with some of our lighter reds, as from a logistical perspective it’s a lot easier all down the line (without even thinking about the TCA question), but the ‘recipes’ I’ve developed for the wines generally include 12+ months of bottle age to hit their stride, so we’ll have to look at that.

Exactly.

I’ve only used screw caps since I started my label with my 06 vintage. I am not anti-cork, but:

  1. The general consumer has no clue what TCA or TBA is and would generally not pick it up but instead think the wine is ‘off’

  2. I’m tired of hearing about ‘bottle variation’ that oftentimes is due to the natural variability of cork.

Restaurants love screw caps. Retailers are a bit more mixed. And the cork industry continues to spend millions ‘convincing’ consumers that they have to purchase corks because a) if they don’t, thousands will lose their jobs and forests will be destroyed and b) it is the ‘preferred’ closure based on studies they’ve funded :slight_smile:

I believe that there does continue to be plenty of misconceptions about screw caps and I even see it here on this board, and have plenty of other winemakers buy in to the verbiage as well.

And there have been wineries who gave ‘back tracked’ and move partially or wholly away from the closure due to ‘perception challenges’.

I don’t think any closure is perfect but I and a number of other producers continue to proudly use screw caps . . .

Cheers!

TCA taint does not always come from corks.
Just sayin’

I do recognize the variation of wines under cork due to the variability of the closure. I am becoming quite a fan of DIAM but am also very open to seeing more wines under screwcap.

Scott,

The percentages of wine that may have slight TCA issues under screw cap is most likely so close to zero that it’s not worth even talking about. Yep, ot happens, but then we’re talking systemic issues at the winery.

As far as DIAMS are concerned, they are promising, but for me, still too early to consider them ‘the next coming’ :slight_smile: Where is the 20 year study on these that everyone continues to keep tearing screw caps down for not having this?

Cheers!

I guess I am kinda surprised, even with the cork industry fighting it, that no concrete studies have been attempted to put the debate to rest.

I’m seeing more and more DIAMS, and now they’re coming with numbers (DIAM 5, DIAM 10, etc.), which I think refers to the number of years for which they’re guaranteed (against what I’m not exactly sure; oxidation, tca??.)

Yep, tis what they are ‘guaranteeing’ in terms of ageability, most likely ‘oxidation’. Heck, it’s nice to have a ‘guarantee’, isn’t it?!?!?

As I said above, I hope that these are successful closures and they appear to be - but where is the ‘independent’ research on these and ageability that everyone insists screw caps have before they are ‘accepted’? Sorry to deadhorse , but just not search this is happening.

Cheers.

Love the pristine cork; always will.