Twist cap wines...

[wizpers]

I would like to know what are your thoughts on twist cap wines? Should restaurant owners should open the door to this fairly new way of doing things... Would you be ready to order one and see the waiter »twist off»your 65$ bottle?

[carswell]

I don't give a hoot about screw caps in restaurants because if the bottle I've ordered is corked I can have it replaced with another bottle. For wine I buy myself, I consider screw caps the superior enclosure, since they eliminate all possibility of cork taint. The one (and only, IMHO) instance where defenders of Portuguese oak bark may have a point is wines meant for long ageing (30+ years), although screw-capped Australian rieslings have lasted 20+ years with no problems. As for the cork-extraction rigmarole in dining establishments, I couldn't care less: it's what's in the glass that matters, not how it gets there.

Edited May 26, 2004 by carswell (log)

[fresco]

If part of the markup that's being charged is for the cork removal ritual, glad to see it go.

Restaurants may actually welcome screwtops, because it does eliminate or at least reduce the incidence of wine being rejected by customers for being off.

And I have great faith in the ability of restaurateurs to come up with a replacement ritual if corks become obsolete, especially if they can find a way to make that ritual pay.

[merlin]

I am perfectly content with a screwtop for the same reasons articulated above.

I would rather not pay $65 <smile> but if it means a $65 screwtop with the assurance it is not "corked" that is fine.

On trips to the west coast you can now find Venturi-Schultz wines with "crown closures" like a beer bottles

[ademello]

Despite the fact that screw-tops lack the rustic charm of corks, there are several undeniable benefits that make them superior.

First and foremost, screw-tops don't require any special equipment (i.e. a corkscrew) to open the bottle. This is handy for picnics, etc.

There's also zero chance that the cork will break in the bottle.

As has been mentioned, 'corking' can ruin a great bottle of wine. If you bought it locally, then sure, you could return it to the SAQ. But if you brought it home from abroad, your out of luck.

I will admit that it doesn't see as fancy or chi-chi to open a screw-top and some of your guests may think that you're serving them dep wine, but to counter them you can share these priceless gems of knowledge with them:

FAQs about Screw-Caps

And another:

Are you getting screwed?

Even though screw-caps are destined to be limited to New World wines for now, like so many other innovations, they are definitely on to something. Bonny Doon is doing a lot of promote the superiority of the screw-caps, including recently replacing the corks in their Old Telegram, a $50+ homage to Vieux Telegraphe.

Old Telegram

[carswell]

If you bought it locally, then sure, you could return it to the SAQ. But if you brought it home from abroad, your out of luck.

The SAQ will accept returns on defective bottles in the 12 months following purchase. If you bought a bottle of 1995 Pétrus from them in 1996, wisely decided to wait eight or nine years before opening it and then found it was corked, you're out $500. And, yes, such things happen; a few years ago I attended a tasting that featured a 1982 Mouton-Rothschild (currently retailing for a cool $1,159 at the SAQ) that was corked so badly you wouldn't have guessed it was a Bordeaux, let alone a first growth.

Even though screw-caps are destined to be limited to New World wines for now, like so many other innovations, they are definitely on to something.

Duboeuf, Calvet and several minor Bordeaux chateaus are already screwcapping part of their production at the instance of Tesco and other British retailing giants. Michel Laroche is using Stelvin caps for part if not all of its 2002 grand cru Chablis. In Germany, the 2002 Joachim Flick Riesling Qba (Rhinegau) and Hasselback's 2000 Johannes Baptiset were screwcapped, and reports are that several winegrowers are opting for alternative enclosures for up to half of their 2003 production. In Italy, Mionetto uses a special crown cap for its Prosecco. Olivier Humbrecht (as in Zind-Humbrecht) is said to have expressed interest in Stelvins, and in a recent issue of Revue des vins de France, high-profile wine critic Michel Bettane raved about screwcaps after seeing them in action in New Zealand.

Screwcaps: they're not just New World anymore!

Edited May 27, 2004 by carswell (log)

[arbuclo]

I'm amazed at how many white wines, particularly reislings here in Australia now have Stelvin caps. I've even started to see some medium priced reds with them too. I do miss the ambience of not dealing with a cork. Has anyone else read about how wine ages differently under Stelvin vs cork? It will be interesting to see how wines age differently as this sort of containment becomes more prevelant.

At BYO restuarants here they often charge "corkage". I think they're gonna have to reconsider the name of that charge. Any good ideas?

[malcolmjolley]

I spent a week in Southern California in April and had several very good SC bottles from small producers. Don't make a difference at all to what's in the glass and once the novelty has worn off one ceases to really notice.

[Lesley C]

Bonny Doon is doing a lot of promote the superiority of the screw-caps, including recently replacing the corks in their Old Telegram, a $50+ homage to Vieux Telegraphe

Bonny Doon is going for screwcaps on all its wines. I think the screwcap looks quite elegant on the Cigar Volant bottle. Well done.

[carswell]

I'm amazed at how many white wines, particularly reislings here in Australia now have Stelvin caps.  I've even started to see some medium priced reds with them too.  I do miss the ambience of not dealing with a cork.  Has anyone else read about how wine ages differently under Stelvin vs cork?  It will be interesting to see how wines age differently as this sort of containment becomes more prevelant.

As I mentioned above, there are experimental screwcapped bottlings of Australian whites (riesling and maybe semillon) going back more than 20 years. The screwcapped bottles have lost none of their fill and remain remarkably fresh and lively. What's more, none of them are spoiled by cork taint. The cork-stoppered bottles have varying amounts of ullage and are more oxydized; some of them are definitely over the hill and a few are corked. (I don't have the source for this at my fingertips, but if having it is important to you, say the word and I'll track it down.)

Most experiments with red wines are of relatively recent vintage, so the jury is still out on the appropriateness of screwcaps for wines meant for long ageing. In a Wine Lovers' Discussion Group exchange a while back, Sue Courtney reported that part of Haut-Brion's 1969 production was bottled with screwcaps and the bottles were stored upright. At a 1978 tasting, no difference was found between the wines from screwcapped and cork-stoppered bottles. However, the caps began to fail after about ten years. Quoting Sue, "Keep in mind that the technology has advanced since those early trials and while Pechiney guarantee the seal for 10 years, Michael Brajkovich MW has no doubt the seals on his Kumeu River wines will last for 20 years. He does say you have to have the right capping head on the machinery and there is technical stuff such as redraw and other things, which is beyond me. The key thing to note though, if that is one is going to do it, it has to be done right."

You might also enjoy reading the Buried Treasures? Old Reds Under Screwcaps chapter from Tyson Stelzer's Screwed for Good.

Edit: Link to Sue Courtney's New Zealand Wine of the Week Screwcap Wine Seal Resource Page

Edited May 27, 2004 by carswell (log)

[cook-em-all]

At Brunoise we have 3 choices of wine with a screw top, all Bonny Doon products.

Vin gris de cigale, Old Telegram, and Cardinal Zin. I keep hearing about the Cigare Volant with a screw, but I have not seen one at the SAQ.

I will admit that part of adding these products to the list was the "gimmick" factor.

Just as I am sure that it was the same for Bonny Doon.

Another factor for me, was the idea of taking away the snobbery that exists within the whole wine milieu. So far we have only sold the Vin Gris, as we offer it at 250ml portions, so I'm not sure how customers have reacted. Maybe they think were serving plunk, with a twist off, but, I 'm waiting for the reaction of the first customer that lays down 85$ for Old Telegram and we twist it open like a bottle of Perrier.

[arbuclo]

At a 1978 tasting, no difference was found between the wines from screwcapped and cork-stoppered bottles.

That's interesting. I read an article a few months back said there was a noticable difference in the development of the same wine under Stelvin vs cork. I think it was in The Age Uncorked. I'll have to see if I can find it.

[porkpa]

My wife and I were having dinner at Bistro Jeanty in the Napa Valley a few weeks ago. I spotted a cabernet(If I remember correctly it was a Whitehall, but I'm not quite sure) on the winelist, with the notation that it was a screwtop. We ordered it. The waiter seemed somewhat surprised, saying that we were the first persons that he had served who had ordered a screwtop bottle. I sensed that he felt that he didn't really like the idea, saying that it removed some of the romance from the enjoyment of wine.

The bottle itself was quite enjoyable.

Porkpa

[carswell]

That's interesting.  I read an article a few months back said there was a noticable difference in the development of the same wine under Stelvin vs cork.  I think it was in The Age Uncorked.  I'll have to see if I can find it.

No, that's the general consensus. Most annecdotal evidence is that screwcaps slow down the maturing process, as though the wines were placed in a very cool cellar. However, if, as seems to have been the case, the Haut-Brion caps were inferior or not properly installed, one result might have been premature (for a screwcapped wine) ageing.

[naguere]

If I buy wine for consumtion in the near future (tonight), ageing is not a problem. Most wine bought in supermarkets is for promt drinking, screwtops are fine by me

[tommy]

If  I buy wine for consumtion in the near future (tonight), ageing is not a problem. Most wine bought in  supermarkets  is for promt  drinking, screwtops are fine by me  

yip. and you're not alone. there's a stat somewhere, i'm sure, noting what percentage of bottle are consumed within, say, 1 year of release. i'm guessing that's a pretty high number.

Edited May 29, 2004 by tommy (log)

[phaelon56]

Does this mean that the cork charge in some restaurants that let you bring your own will now be replaced by a screw charge?

[tommy]

Does this mean that the cork charge in some restaurants that let you bring your own will now be replaced by a screw charge?

that's a good one and i'm mad i didn't think of it.

[jayt90]

Corks were devised to keep wine for a few years, and worked well. When it was discovered that really good wines could last for many years, with really good corks installed, the wine lore began. But generally, it was thought that the slight interplay of cellar air and neck air would help the wine in slow aging, improving, and preserving. The introduction of Stelvin has changed all that. These stppers are almost impossible to remove with a waiter's corkscrew, and they will allow almost no interplay of cellar air and neck air. The recent introduction of screw caps merely exaggerates this fault. The exceptional wines will not age well.

We are left with the cork, for our best wines. There is a slight chance of infection, but the risk is offset by a predictable improvement in good wine after stable aging, before the eventual demise.

[carswell]

But generally, it was thought that the slight interplay of cellar air and neck air would help the wine in slow aging, improving, and preserving.  The introduction of Stelvin has changed all that.  These stppers are almost impossible to remove with a waiter's corkscrew, and they will allow almost no interplay of cellar air and neck air. The recent introduction of screw caps merely exaggerates this fault.

While corks are virtually impermiable to liquids and gasses (see Peynaud), there is no denying some exchange of gasses between the contents of the bottle and the outside takes place, probably around the cork, not through it. However, the amount of gas/liquid exchange varies widely from cork to cork, which gives the lie to the notion that a specific amount of oxygen transmission is essential to wine ageing. And the amount that does occur in cork-stoppered bottles is thought to be insignificant compared with the amount of oxygen introduced at the time of bottling. Also, ageing is generally considered to be a reductive process.

"The best information available suggests a soundly cork-stoppered wine bottle may allow access on the order of 0.1mL of O2/L/year. Thus, it would take about 60 years to be equivalent to one saturation before the wine was bottled! This is considered essentially anaerobic. Eventually a cork will fail. Ullage develops and the wine at some point rapidly declines. For a time, however, bottle aging or anaerobic storage in any similar container contributes new flavor effects, greater complexity and interest, and increased quality, at least in certain wines in the perception of discerning consumers." –Principles and Practices of Winemaking, Roger B. Boulton et al.

"The major difference between bottle aging and bulk aging is that bottle aging is carried on (except for the first weeks after bottling) practically in the absence of oxygen. ... In regard to cork, when kept compressed in the bottle neck and wet by touching the wine inside the bottle, it is practically impermiable to liquids and air. ... The process of aging will occur eventually in a perfectly sealed wine. –Concepts in Wine Chemistry, Yair Margalit

The exceptional wines will not age well.

This is pure hypothesis on your part, no? If not, please cite studies/references to back such a sweeping claim. As I understand it, if the jury is out on bottling slow-maturing wines under screwcaps, it is not because the wines will not age well but because it is currently not known whether the closure will fail before the wine is mature.

We are left with the cork, for our best wines. There is a slight chance of infection, but the risk is offset by a predictable improvement in good wine after stable aging, before the eventual demise.

In the wine industry, the generally accepted figure for corked (TCA-affected) wines is 4 to 5% of production, with little if no correlation to the breed of the wine or the price of the cork. That is not "a slight chance." Indeed, there is probably no other consumer product, and certainly no other luxury consumer product, where such a failure rate would be tolerated.

Edited May 31, 2004 by carswell (log)

[rose and antojitos]

If part of the markup that's being charged is for the cork removal ritual, glad to see it go.

It's doubtful that screwtops will affect the markup of restaurant wine. We aren't really paying for the ritual of the opening as much as the experience of having the wine with food and ambience of the restaurant (we're paying for the cost of the running of the restaurant, e.g. rent, electricity, food costs, breakage, and staff pay.)

As far as the service charge on BYO screw-top wine in a restaurant, instead of "corkage", couldn't we just call it "screwage"?

[carswell]

André Lurton has just released screwcapped lots of 2003 Bordeaux blanc from chateaus Couhins-Lurton, Bonnet and La Louvière (the last two are tasty SAQ regulars), and Canada is listed as one of the destinations. Also, Burgundy winemaker Patrice Rion is reportedly gearing up to begin screwcapping at least some of his wines. See First Screw Caps Appear in Bordeaux. The tide is turning, folks.

edit: fix botched edit

Edited July 9, 2004 by carswell (log)

[KatieLoeb]

There actually is a "proper" procedure for removing a screw cap.

You hold the bottle out at arms length with label showing up to the customer.

You then loosen the ENTIRE foil section with your dominant hand.

Then turn the BOTTOM portion of the foil until it cracks and takes the screw cap up half a turn.

Gently flip the now loosened screw cap with your thumb until the cap comes off in your hand.

Pour small taste for customer, pick up where you left off with a cork...

This was shown to me by the marketing manager for Villa Maria wines of New Zealand. Their entire line is in Stelvin enclosed bottles.

[tommy]

There actually is a "proper" procedure for removing a screw cap.

You hold the bottle out at ams length with label showing up to the customer.

You then loosen the ENTIRE foil section with your dominant hand.

Then turn the BOTTOM portion of the foil until it cracks and takes the screw cap up half a turn.

Gently flip the now loosened screw cap with your thumb until the cap comes off in your hand.

Pour small taste for customer, pick up where you left off with a cork...

This was shown to me by the marketing manager for Villa Maria wines of New Zealand. Their entire line is in Stelvin enclosed bottles.

she's good. she's very good.

[KatieLoeb]

There actually is a "proper" procedure for removing a screw cap. 

You hold the bottle out at ams length with label showing up to the customer.

You then loosen the ENTIRE foil section with your dominant hand.

Then turn the BOTTOM portion of the foil until it cracks and takes the screw cap up half a turn.

Gently flip the now loosened screw cap with your thumb until the cap comes off in your hand.

Pour small taste for customer, pick up where you left off with a cork...

This was shown to me by the marketing manager for Villa Maria wines of New Zealand.  Their entire line is in Stelvin enclosed bottles.

she's good. she's very good.

Love 'ya Tommy. Mean it.

It was only a matter of time before someone thought up a tableside "procedure" for dealing with this. Otherwise the waiters wouldn't be needed any longer and the entire "ambiance" of wine service would go to extinction, along with the corks. This is a boon for all the bad/lazy waiters who won't get spanked anymore for not having their wine keys with them at work.

Better get used to this folks. Cork alternatives are here to stay. Whether Stelvin caps, glass stoppers or "crown closures", the scarcity and price of cork in addition to loss from organic cork "infections" has made this the wave of the future. Nowhere to go but bigger market share.

I suspect Mr. Stelvin's children and grandchildren will want for nothing...