 Put
a Cork in it...
Or Not.
By John W. Schultz
The controversy continues on how to seal a
bottle of wine. The cork industry certainly seems to “feel our
pain” and regularly makes pronouncements about quality improvement
and lot’s o’ dollars devoted for research. Hang in there they say,
we will get it right, it’s getting better every day... And
yet time and time again, corked wines arrive on our tables. It may
be getting better, but I can think of a way to make it better
faster. Start bottling ready to drink on release wines with a
screwcap or synthetic instead of a real cork.
The cork is a 17th Century solution to a 21st Century problem.
Cork makes even less sense when wine is designed to drink right
away. It seems the thought in the industry is that “absolutely” all
wines must have a cork or they are deemed inferior in some way. “We
will lose sales and it will cost us money.” The jury is still out on
this line of reasoning.
Maybe if the cork industry had to provide less cork to the wine
industry, due to other bottle-sealing options, they could do a
better job on what they do make..?
Some producers are stepping out and are
not afraid to say the emperor has no clothes. Leading wine makers
from Australia and New Zealand have started breaking tradition and
are not using cork, especially in ready to drink whites. The except
below is from our friends with the "screw cap" initiative. It is
written by one of our favorite wine makers, Belinda Gould at Muddy
Water Winery, Waipara, New Zealand:
“It would be simplistic to say that screwcaps are the greatest
thing since sliced bread – it’s better than that – pre-sliced
bread isn’t actually better, it’s just easier – screwcaps are
easier and better.
"Muddy Water has changed to screwcaps for all the wine we
produce destined for the New Zealand market. We give our overseas
distributors a choice because screwcaps v corks is a marketing
decision not a quality decision and they have to sell our wines in
those countries. When we say its not a quality decision we mean –
if you want quality – screwcaps are the only way. Why did we
change? Simply because screw caps are better and like every other
winery in the world we were dissatisfied with corks – but there
didn’t seem to be an alternative. The winemakers who began the
current move to screwcaps, (from the Clare Valley in Australia and
NZ’s Screwcap Initiative founders) have shown us all the future.
"For Muddy Water the galvanizing event came about in February
2002. We were one of the guest wineries at the Central Otago Pinot
Noir Celebration – I opened 15 bottles of 1999 Muddy water Pinot
Noir for a tasting – 10 were good – 1 was corked (obvious TCA) and
4 were compromised – just not quite right - slightly corked or
slightly oxidized – a bit dull and flat – opened by themselves
they would have been hard to pick out – next to the 10 good ones
it was obvious. A failure rate of 33%!
"The wonderful thing about screwcaps is that the end user is
drinking exactly what we at the winery put into the bottle – with
corks there was a dangerous “x” factor – would the cork have
tainted the wine? – would the wine be oxidized? - or would it be a
good bottle? (good cork!) Under a screwcap the wine does still
develop but as it would under an extra specially good cork. At the
Screwcap Initiative tastings we have tried some quite old wines
under screwcap – 20-year-old Clare Valley Rieslings – the wines
were developed as one would expect but evenly developed and not
oxidized or corked.
"I have been to several screwcap v cork tastings run by the
Screwcap Initiative – the results just keep getting better. I’m
always happy to tell people what we do, and why, but I hope you’ll
all form your own opinions about the finished product. However
because most of you are not able to attend these tastings I’ll try
to describe what I’ve found.
"The wines under screwcaps appear to age more evenly and
accentuate the pure fruit flavours and reduced characteristics to
a greater extent than corks. Sometimes wines under cork taste
‘corky’ without actually being corked – almost oaky – it’s only
obvious because of the screwcap wine along side. I have tried over
50 comparisons now and I haven’t yet found one where the cork was
better – some are more advanced under cork but not actually
better.
"As many others have said – “what industry would put up with a
packaging failure rate of between 3% and 20%?” The wine industry
has – for much too long. As Bob Campbell put it in his article
“It’s a Screwcap Revolution” July 2001 –“I have one question for
all of the other winemakers who for the time being continue to use
corks. If you know that screwcaps will produce better and more
consistent wine than corks, how can you continue to short-change
your customers?” – you can find the whole article at
www.bobcampbell.co.nz –
its worth reading – as are all Bob’s articles. Anyway it’s the
liquid in the bottle that’s magical and romantic not the piece of
bark in the bottleneck. Give me a screwcap any day and a wine
waiter who can make a “pop” sound (preferably with his or her
mouth). Cheers!
Belinda Gould
Muddy Water Winery, Waipara, New Zealand
Now that's a pretty compelling statement for a 21st Century
solution. Other good information about screwcaps can be found at:
www.corkwatch.com and
www.screwcap.co.nz
The move away from cork, where it makes sense, needs to start
somewhere. Certainly wineries that are already bottling with
synthetic cork, such as: Claar, Smoking Loon, and Montinore , are
making a smart move that is inspiring others to join the bandwagon.
That is a great trend. As far as screw caps go, wineries will
continue to choose screwcaps more often, and may even increase their
business by doing so.
Here is an idea: What would happen if the producers of the wines
that “must absolutely be by the glass in every great restaurant in
town” offered a second bottling, with a screwcap, of their top
selling ready to drink whites? It’s very likely most restaurants
would order the screwcap version to save their staff time, guarantee
no corked bottles, and keep the wine fresher by putting the cap back
on the bottle after opening. I’m sure most will agree, it’s a pain
to squeeze that cork back in, especially when you shouldn't turn it
upside down or the wine may be tainted. It seems like a sensible
solution to an all-too-common problem.
Producers need to take baby steps and at least give the consumer
the choice. So far as I’ve seen, consumers think it’s great. Besides
the wineries may even be able to sell the screwcaps for (a little)
less, something I know would delight restaurant Management. |
