Wine with screwtops -- seriously!

[rpdkpd]

I am a cork traditionalist, but I need some some suggestions about "everyday" wine ($7-$10/bottle), preferably white, in screwtop bottles. I have an elderly parent who loves a daily glass of wine, but muscle problems defeat use of corkscrews. We have tried at least 10 different models of corkscrews, but to no avail. A screwtop would be easier to manage, so recommendations are sought eagerly. Thanks!

[Dave the Cook]

You might check out Ca' Del Solo Big House White.

[Msk]

Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc is the only screw top wine I have had. It was good but a bit above your range. around $14

Msk

[tommy]

there are a few producers out of New Zealand using screwtops. i *think* another is Villa Maria.

if the sauvignon blanc too acidic, or the style isn't pleasing, then you could try the chardonnay, which i'm sure has a screwtop as well, but less of that grapefruit thing going on.

should be about 10 bucks.

Edited January 27, 2004 by tommy (log)

[hollywood]

Just about everything by Bonny Doon has a screw cap now though most are out of the range you mention except the Big House White and Big House Red as mentioned above.

[Boris_A]

Just about everything by Bonny Doon has a screw cap now

Screw caps are THE convenient solution for wines intended to be consumed within 2-5 years. But even 10 years should be no problem.

[helenjp]

Yep, Australian and NZ producers are moving to screwtops for wines not intended to be cellared -- the idea is that they protect a wine for 2-3 years better than a poor quality cork would. When I visit NZ, I don't particularly want to travel with my "take down buildings in one stroke" corkscrew, so I hunt out screwtops.

Villa Maria is a large producer who put effort into producing good quality and consistent wines for the dinner table -- you can find wine from them which is not cheap and nasty, and they win a fair number of awards.

Kim Hill is a smaller and more recent maker, with some excellent wines.

Unless they are dirt cheap, I think a screwtop wine from NZ or Australia has a good chance of coming from a winery which takes technology seriously -- I'm sorry that I don't recall which other wineries use a lot of screwtops.

[primowino]

A large and fairly reliable Australian producer which now use screwtops on all their white wines is Lehmann (or Peter Lehmann). They are based in the Barossa Valley and really specialise in Shiraz, so if these begin to appear under screwtops you should get some.

[ctgm]

Had some Jackson Estate (NZ) wines in screw cap. Thought that they were disgusting but I think that they have won numerous awards so possibly they might be pallatable if you like that sort of thing.

[bleachboy]

He would probably like the Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Dry Riesling. I do, anyway.

[Stigand]

Wither Hills (NZ) does a screw-top Sauvignon Blanc that I like a lot. About GBP7.00-8.00 a bottle from Waitrose, if I haven't bought the last bottle. No idea if you can get it in the US, though - sorry.

[jsolomon]

I hate to be THAT GUY, but what about getting a low-cost white (german riesling comes to mind) and put it in a screw-top container?

[zephyrus]

an australian producer that the wine guys at central market here in austin rec'd was woop woop, i believe it was the verdelho grape? it drank quite nice to my uneducated palate and was i believe 9.99 a bottle....hope this might help...

casey

[dlc]

I hate to be THAT GUY, but what about getting a low-cost white (german riesling comes to mind) and put it in a screw-top container?

The folks at Gunderloch in the Rheinpfalz are considering that for their current vintage. Although I would not consider them low cost

[Wilson]

Frankly, I don't see why screwtops couldn't be used for cellar-able wines, too. I recall reading some years back that some serious collectors were pulling the corks out of their wines and using bottlecaps. Cork fails at a pretty high rate. It's pretty disappointing when you've laid down, say, half a dozen bottles of cabernet only to find that a couple of them are corked.

Anyway, at the moment a lot of wine from New Zealand comes in screw-top bottles. I think they're giving the French quite a run for the money in the lower end of fine wines, i.e., the $10-$20 range. Especially the sauvignon blancs.

By the way, I was given a "rabbit" corkscrew for Christmas. Took a bit of getting used to, but now you couldn't pry it out of my cold, dead fingers.

Edited January 30, 2004 by Wilson (log)

[Coop]

I just picked up my allotment of Cloudy Bay 2003 SB, and was surprised (pleasently) to find the end closed with a screw cap. This must be the most highly regarded wine to go screwcap to this point. I am definetly in favour of this move.

[helenjp]

I was given a "rabbit" corkscrew for Christmas

After I wrecked my umpteenth corkscrew, a friend recommended an Adler corkscrew. Couldn't find a photo online, sorry. It looks a bit like a crossbow -- you screw it in, and the screw moves down into the cork and then lifts the cork up, without your having to change direction or do anything else but keep screwing away, so to speak.

I've used the wing/rabbit ear type, but prefer this. The standard cheap corkscrew...I don't know how it happens, but usually the screw straightens out, and then one sad day I usually snap the whole thing off. Rather embarrassing to admit that my feminine mitts can deal such damage!

[tcizma]

"pfeffo" medium dry kabinett riesling from Pfeffingen in the Pfalz available in screw top, inexpensive, and a great "swill at will" wine. check out the Rudi Wiest website at www.germanwine.net