Is Ritual Necessary?
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By
Robin GarrFor many of the wine enthusiasts who have
already embraced the once- maligned metal screw cap as an
appropriate seal for fine wines, its casual simplicity is part of
the appeal of the alternative closure.
Unscrew the cap, pour the wine; no muss, no fuss, and best of all,
no snob factor.
But wine lovers who enjoy the brief ritual that attends the
extraction of the traditional cork feel that there's something
missing in a quick, careless unscrewing. Indeed, for restaurant
sommeliers, who make a living out of mastering wine minutiae, an
opening procedure devoid of ritual could be a professional threat.
No worries, mate ... those crafty sommeliers Down Under have
already come up with a nifty little uncapping scheme that's
sufficiently tongue- in-cheek to elicit more of a smile than a
snobby sneer.
The procedure is simple, much easier to master than the dreaded
corkscrew: Grasp the cap firmly with one hand, and gently rotate the
bottle under it with the other, breaking the seal with an audible,
satisfying "crack." Then place the loosened cap against your forearm
(tuxedo optional) and roll it down toward your hand, timing the move
so the cap comes off just as the bottle rolls into your palm.
Present the cap with a flourish if you wish. There's no need to
sniff it, but you're welcome to do so if it pleases you.
Is this ritual necessary? Of course not! Is it fun? I think so,
although the answer to that question may depend on your sense of
humor. The Aussie wine geeks who first told me about it thought it
hilarious, and claimed it was an Australian invention, although my
Kiwi wine pal Sue Courtney (
http://www.wineoftheweek.com/ ) insists that it came originally
from New Zealand, in a video produced by the good folks at Villa
Maria when they went over to the alternative closure years ago.
One thing's certain: The idea almost had to come from Down Under,
where producers in both countries have led the charge toward screw
cap closures for wines of quality.
Meanwhile, if you think the screw cap is declassé, I expect
you'll be horrified by the closure on today's tasting, a modest but
surprisingly fetching Austrian Grüner Veltliner from H. und M.
Hofer, packaged in a stubby green jug that looks almost like a beer
bottle, and closed with a beer-style "crown cap" that submits to
neither corkscrew nor uncapping twist but the humble "church key." |
