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Screw Tops: Friend or Foe?
There are arguments for and against the use of screw caps on wine bottles with cork breakdown leading the charge against. The cork industry suggests a 2.5% failure rate, while the wine industry argues that the number is considerably higher, somewhere between 8-15%. Additionally, tainted corks introduce 2,4,6- trichloroanisole, a chemical that imparts a musty, wet basement odor to wines. Synthetic corks have also proven ineffective, detrimental even, removing sulphur, altering mouthfeel, and speeding oxidation, dulling both the nose and flavor. Another school of thought points to the lack of need for long term storage. More than 80% of wine bought in the United States is opened within 48 hours of purchase with a staggering 98% poured within 6 months.
Decades ago the folks at Gallo tested screw caps and espoused their superiority over corks. Hogue Cellars conducted a 30-month study comparing natural and synthetic cork closures with Stelvin screw caps, their findings suggest significant benefits in utilizing screw caps over either natural or synthetic cork closures. While screw caps do diminish the drama and romance of bottle opening it is well worth the sacrifice to ensure untainted wine that offers consistent aging, sustained flavor and freshness with optimum quality.
New Zealand currently leads the industry with nearly 30 wineries employing screw caps. A significant number of highly regarded wineries in the United States are taking the plunge. Plumpjack has been bottling 50% of their reserve production in Stelvin screw caps. Look for Calera, Argyle and Sonoma-Cutrer to join in on the action. Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon has given up on cork completely; his entire production is bottled with screw caps this year. Grahm believes that screw caps are the best closure currently available. We are sure to see this trend take hold as winemakers and wine enthusiasts alike place a higher priority on overall quality and less on “corked” tradition.
An article by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Carol Emert sheds some light on the subject:
“At a blind tasting last week at PlumpJack, the three wine writers in attendance agreed that the screw-capped 1998 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon showed more signs of aging than an identical cork-finished bottle. (PlumpJack bottles half of its Reserve each way and sells it in two-packs for comparison.)
The screw-cap version was very good, but a tad less fruity and had a slightly less round mouth-feel than the same wine sealed with cork.
PlumpJack managing partner Gavin Newsom — perhaps better known as a San Francisco supervisor and mayoral candidate — noted that wines go through cycles in the bottle.
‘I’ll take the screw cap at this point,’ Newsom said.
PlumpJack majority owner Gordon Getty, also tasting blind, found he preferred the screw-capped version because it had more nose, was softer on the palate and reminded him of ‘an old French wine.’
‘I could be making a fool of myself, but I make a business of doing that,’ said the San Francisco billionaire as he pondered two glasses of deep purple Cabernet.
Downing Family Vineyards has had the opposite experience with its screw- capped Zinfandel.
‘The two words I hear a lot from customers are brighter and fresher,’ when referring to the screw-cap wine, says general manager Stuart Winkelman. ‘I go out of my way to buy screw-cap wines; they have a brightness about them that is really captivating.’” *
So…friend or foe? The jury is still out on long-term storage. However, if you live alone and don’t plan on guzzling an entire bottle in one sitting or of you don’t intend to cellar your wines, screw caps are, as Mr. Spock would say, “Logical.”
*Full article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/05/22/WI256617.DTL
More info here: http://www.screwcapinitiative.com/normal.asp?navID=24&pageID=24
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