Interesting Tasting at VinItaly - Screw Cap Wines Preferred Over Cork by 'Wine Professionals' . . .

As many of you know, I have been a fan of screw caps for a long time. I am NOT anti-cork but as a producer of a consumer product, I want to be able to stand behind my product regardless if I am there when that bottle is opened or not. As has been shown on this board and others, not everyone can detect TCA, and as an industry, I feel we have gone backwards over the past decade in educating consumers as to what a ‘corked’ wine really is. Now at the same time, the cork industry has worked harder than ever to reduce TCA instances, but they have not, nor cannot, be 100% successful at this. Yep, DIAM’s have been a step forward, but show me the independent research that wines will age ‘successfully’ under this closure (the same litmus test everyone seems to say about screw caps).

Here is a tasting that took place at VinItaly where 5 aged Aussie reds were served blind to ‘wine professionals’. There were pairs of each wine - one bottled under screw cap and one bottled under cork. As you can see, the professionals preferred the wines bottled under screw cap and felt that they aged beautifully.

I know that tastings and results like this won’t change many of your perceptions about the closure - but I hope it helps to at least have you look at the closure a bit differently.

Cheers!

There just needs to be a critical mass. The big turning point for Australia was when just about everybody in the region of Clare, which is known for its riesling, took a collective decision to move to screw cap for both reds and whites. The other thing they did was promote it. That was 2002. Many were already going that way with their whites and the collective decision by the region to go with their reds gave others the encouragement to follow. I don’t know the stats, but I reckon that at least 3/4 of the industry in Australia was under screw cap by 2007. Right now, it’s a surprise if I find an Australian wine with a normal cork. Diam is not uncommon but screw cap is dominant in the market.

Great article and fascinating stuff. Definitely has some interesting implications for the industry.

I wonder if/when we hit the tipping point, and what the proximate cause might be…

What continues to amaze me is that a story such as this does not get more buzz on a site like this. I here again and again - PROVE to me that wines can age under screw cap. And here is ‘proof’ - now, it’s anecdotal, of course, but there it is . . .

I know that there are many factors at play here and that there is no perfect closure - and I do not believe that screw caps are. But again, I here over and over here and elsewhere that folks are worried about wines ‘aging appropriately’ under screw cap, especially reds.

Hopefully this will get more discussions going - but perhaps not. I guess folks are simply happy playing ‘russian roulette’ and hoping that wineries and retailers will stand behind those products . . . as we hear story after story about them not.

Cheers.

Just a thought, but you might try a splashier headline to get people’s attention and provoke the conversation…

Kevin,

Not too much into Hyperbole but heck I’ll give it a shot - I’ll rename it now!

Cheers!

Better?!?!?

Cheers!

I’m at the point of semi-professional and feel that corks should disappear except for sparkling wine. Corks, nowadays, are for show. Without corks, I doubt we would be seeing the white Burgundy premox epidemic. Other than tradition, why rely on a 300+ year technology when even the wines are made with modern technology?

Larry, even though people say that their only concern with screwcaps is how they’ll age, I believe that the real reason that opponents don’t like them is simply that they perceive that screwcaps are unsophisticated and not ceremonial enough. Even if you could design a screwcap that would allow exactly the rate of oxygen ingress that they claim they want, they would find some other reason not to like them. They don’t want their Precious and semi-exclusive ambrosia to have the same closure as Dr. Pepper and Sunny Delight. They don’t like them because they don’t like them.

Well, most of us aren’t opening Champagne bottles with sabers either. I just look at the amount of wasted great wines out there that could be saved with a better closure. I have had only 2 wines that were corked with screwcap closures. With corks, I’m running 1-2%. I open about 500-600 bottles per year so that is a lot of wasted wine and wasted money.

Scott,

I hear you, but that is NOT what is said by many wine professionals or avid drinkers like those on this board. If many feel this way, so be it . . .

But the general consumer should have some clue as to why screw caps are being used . . .and not just the prevailing ‘conventional wisdoms’ that many continue to spout out . . .

It would be wonderful if a pro-screw cap marketing campaign was started here a la the one that changed the tide of thinking Down Under o er a decade ago. Let’s hope . . .

Cheers.

I am decidedly more in the screwcap camp than cork, though my wines remain predominantly cork-sealed as I lean more towards Italian wines these days and screwcaps are outlawed on DOCG wines (Grrr!). I’d probably have a 20% cork / 80% screwcap split if I could.

Tyson has been a champion of screwcap for many years, so it would be fair to ask whether he would have published a result in the opposite direction with the same enthusiasm.

FWIW I think he is a very good writer and have great respect for him. His DIY cellaring book shows a very practical (yet creative) mind. The context above is not meant to detract from that, but it should be borne in mind by the impartial (if such a thing exists in this perennial debate).

regards
Ian

I am a 110% avid pro-screwcap fanatic all the way and I love the glass Vinolock stoppers even more. I believe that screwcaps are a better technology than cork and I believe that the Vinolock solves the issue of ceremony with its elegance and appearance. In fact, I love opening Vinolocks and hearing the satisfying click and feeling the smooth glass stopper in my fingers far, far more than I do pulling corks out and hearing the pop. Maybe it’s the budding wine snob in me but I find Vinolocks reek of class and higher expense far more than cork does.

I believe this is also the first time I have ever seen on the time I’ve been on this board somebody rightfully calling out cork as a 300 year old technology that should have long had its day and gone the way of the Polaroid, camera film, vinyl record, CD, VHS, the steam engine and the coal-powered locomotive.

As wine fanatics (Berserkers), it’s hard for us to often step back and see some of the ridiculous aspects that pervade the industry and the hobby we all love but this is the one that pulls me out of my euphoria and makes me want to smack around both those in the wine industry and its customers and call them out as the luddites and idiots they can be and often are.

There is simply no logical reason for cork to still be used as a closure on wine anymore with modern technology in our modern era. While we can’t guarantee ever that wine will never go bad, we certainly have the technology and ability to ensure that far, far LESS of it will. Pretty much every other industry and service in the world embraces beneficial technology except for the wine industry in this particular matter.

It is ridiculous to me that we still have a debate in the industry and that this thread topic still pops up every once in a while on this board. That is not an insult to the members here, either, I believe the industry itself is what has placed doubts in our minds about modern closures for those of you that still have them.

To be fair, the last time I posted on this I was adamant that screwcaps should be used for wines that should taste the same when opened (i.e. sweet wines, white wines, etc.) and cork should be used for those that get better with long aging (i.e. Alsace, Old World reds, etc.).

Then I got the WB smackdown and was informed by other posters than screwcaps can in fact be used to properly age reds as they can designed to specifically control the rate of exposure given to a wine whereas cork is completely up to chance. So even as a pro-screwcap enthusiast, I was still under the influence of misguidance and misinformation spread by the industry. That only shows to me how pervasive it really is.

You know what? It’s enough already. If all wines in the world were all put under screwcap and Vinolock tomorrow, purists would bitch and complain for a few months… and then the entire wine world, both industry and consumers, would carry on as per normal.

And while we’re at it, I also feel that all high-end spirits including grappa, bourbon, Scotch whisky and Brandy de Jerez should also be sealed with screwcaps and Vinlock closures. It’s friggin’ ridiculous that my $100-$250 bottles of precious liquid gold are being sealed with $1.10 T-cork stoppers.

Screwcaps are fine with me. Question, though - does it make a difference if you store a screwcap bottle on its side versus upright? I was reading somewhere that it is recommended to store them upright, which then presents a storage space problem unless you build wine storage units with entirely new racking.

But look at all the things you would miss if the wine world switched away from cork:

• searching for a tool to open the stupid thing
• straining out all the little bits that fell off the cork or worse, broken cork bits
• not being able to reseal and unseal it again easily
• worrying about the humidity of your storage space
• you might even lose any affinity you have for TCA contamination

I think the breakthrough will come when one of the big names, especially a first growth, decides to offer the wine with your choice of closure. Then we’ll really see how the consumer market accepts it compared to cork. I think it would be marketing genius to do this because there could even be a coolness factor to be able to say, “I get my Latour with twist offs”.

I wish there were a little more detail and color than “A panel of international wine professionals voted the screw-capped wines ahead of the corks.”

Is there a better write-up or someone with more information elsewhere?

But the bigger point is well-received. I wish the move to screw caps would greatly accelerate from its current glacial pace. Props to Larry and those intrepid few in the USA and France who are willing to use them on their full lineups.

I am very much in the pro-screwcap camp, but too many of my favorite wines remain under cork. I wanted to buy all screwcap starting with the 2008 vintage, but the change has been too slow.

That being said, I have zero issue with producers or retailers standing behi d their product when there is a bad cork. Not sure where Larry is hearing all these tales of people not standing behind their wines.

David,

Thanks for ‘playing’. We hear tails here on this board all of the time - whether it’s at the retail level or the winery level. Most of the time, if the winery has any social medal savvy whatsoever and this is brought up here or elsewhere, they will 'make right ', but there are loads of wineries that are so distant from their customers that they would not proactively reach out like many do here. And what about overseas wineries? And about wines that are decades old?

And go onto a few other boards and you will hear stories rather often about retailers and on premise places questioning whether said wine is truly corked or not . . .

Cheers!

The wines presented showcased some of Australia’s most ageworthy and respected reds, including Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz 2004, Cullen Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 and 2005, Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2003 and Brokenwood Rayner Shiraz 2001.

Do these wines typically improve with age? I had a Yalumba Signature a couple years ago and it struck me as the stereotypical overblown Aussie red — I would not expect it to age well, nor would I be interested in spending my own money to find out if my expectation was correct.

Let’s see some aged Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Cab Franc under screwcap. Or how about some Nebbiolo? Selling “aged” Aussie reds as an example of screw caps’ ageworthiness is not going to convince many who aren’t already convinced; I put “aged” in quotes b/c the wines here only start to scratch the surface of what many wine geeks consider “aged” to be.

Yes those wines most definitely improve with age. The Signature and the Rayner are sometimes in that ‘overblown aussie red’ category perhaps, but only for the Old World purists. On a new world scale, they are fairly restrained and structured, vintage variations not withstanding. But the first two are world class wines. The Cullen would give plenty of quality Bordeaux a good run for it’s money, and Hill of Grace certainly doesn’t need my defence, it’s reputation stands alone. I do agree that the first three labels were still way too young.

My only issue with something like Bordeaux or Nebbiolo under screwcap would be my age, as at least a half dodgy but non TCA affected cork allows me to sometimes enjoy a prematurely opened bottle.

Oh, and haters always gonna hate. But I love this thread.