2 barrels of "North Coast Syrah" from a vineyard named after a big bird That's fruit I'm buying through them, and I'm bringing in two barrels of Santa Cruz Mountain fruit on my own. Cabernet and Merlot from the vineyard I manage in Portola Valley. 100 cases total.

Wow...very nice! Hey you were probably thinking of David Dain...he is making his wines at CrushPad here in the city. Maybe that clears it up!

Andrew

To All: Thank you James Suckling!!!
The public has spoken and they want real CORKS!!!
Also I only voted once!!!
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Free/0,3739,62,00.html

The Great Cork Debate

The results are in!

Posted: Monday, April 04, 2005

Last month, we asked you to weigh in on the "The Great Cork Debate," posed in our March 31, 2005, issue, where senior editors James Suckling and James Laube locked horns over the merits and handicaps of natural cork vs. screw caps. Do the virtues of cork extend beyond mere science, or are screw caps a viable alternative closure? We received thousands of submissions to our online poll, and the results are astounding.

After the first week of polling, screw caps were a bottle neck ahead of corks, receiving about 55 percent of the total vote. Then something strange happened: The cork-lovers began to log in and vote for their beloved natural closure, and corks rallied ahead of screw caps to an insurmountable lead of 80 percent to 18 percent, where it will remain as the victor.

What happened? Did the cork fiends wake up from a TCA-induced slumber? Did the screw-cappers cut themselves on their aluminum lovelies, rendering their fingers unable to point-and-click? Alas, the wine world may never know.

Here are the original poll options and results:

• I agree with James Suckling -- the virtues of cork go beyond mere science 80%

• I agree with James Laube -- twist-offs are a viable alternative 18%

• Did not choose 2%

Mr. Loring I don't buy screw cap wine!!!! Most of the wineries that have switch to them blaming cork taint did not do there home work on who they were buying there corks from or they bought from the cheapest BROKER in the business or they are blaming bad winemaking on taint.
My experience is that wineries that are lazy about choosing a closer supplier also are laze about there chemistry and winemaking sanitation. Or they are like the fellow in The Santa Cruz mountains that makes a spectacle of himself in a bid for free marketing / media attention (free advertising!!! Funny how easily the media is duped)???

Screw caps cheapen the industry. Put them back on beer where they belong!!!

A.P. Vin-

What'd you think of the SouthCorp study?

Just for clarification, the fellow refered to is Randall Graham. I actually live in San Jose and hate media attention

quote:

Originally posted by highdesertwine:

If our ancestors had airtight seals..

Are you talking hermetical here, hdw? I like the lids on my sourkraut to be airtight, but wine is a different story, it can use a little air.

And don't overlook another important aspect of this screwy development. Can you even imagine the dancing the somms and waiters will be doing with these twist offs? Already I hear sales reps talking about giving instructions on how to properly hold the bottle while working the screw top. Please, give me a break.
And what about the corkage fee? Will it be called twistage or screwage?

quote:

Originally posted by Cork Advocate:
Mr. Loring I don't buy screw cap wine!!!!

Why? Do you only buy wine that's meant to lay down for 30 years before drinking? Truthfully, if I was making Cabernet, I probably wouldn't switch over to twist offs yet. Not enough data. But for an early drinking wine? I really don't see the issue.

quote:

Originally posted by Cork Advocate:
Most of the wineries that have switch to them blaming cork taint did not do there home work on who they were buying there corks from or they bought from the cheapest BROKER in the business or they are blaming bad winemaking on taint.

I tried a couple of producers, both of which claimed to be industry leaders in the production of taint free corks. I paid nearly a dollar a cork, and still saw about 4% taint from TCA. The TCA levels in the wines weren't the subtle levels found from issues in the winery (like seen at Montelena). Nor did all the wines show TCA levels that would lead me to believe I had some other contamination source. The source was the cork.

I'd love to see the cork industry clean up their act. Maybe we will find that a true taint free cork is the best closure. But we ain't there yet folks. Without the pressure that alternatives like twist offs have "provided", cork producers would still be claiming that there's nothing wrong with their product - so live with it.

For me, for right now, twist offs are the only choice.

My view on the cork debate:

1) I am unaware of any technical paper that say a that current screw cap enclosures are inferior to cork. The only technical wine making issue I am aware of with screw-caps is the need to lower H2S levels. Every winemaker that I have seen interviewed about the reason to change to screw caps cites that screw caps are superior to cork in maintaining the quality of their wine, since these are people with actual technical knowledge I'm inclined to listen to them.

2) Cork imparts a cork taste to wine, that is most noticeable in delicate white wines, and is detrimental to the wine.

3) long term (30 year) studies have been conducted in Australia which have demonstrated that screw caps are superior, at least for riesling, to cork in the long term.

4) Costumer acceptance will be driven by a sufficient critical mass of producers adopting the new closure. In Australia this was lead by riesling makers from the Clare and Eden Valleys. In America it seems that Australian and NZ wines are acting as the ice breaker. Does anyone seriously suggest that if Screaming Eagle converted to screw cap tomorrow that this would change their mailing and waiting lists one iota?

5) Just because something is old and romantic doesn't mean it performs its job better than a modern replacement. The Supermarine Spitefire is dead sexy and a classis warplane, but if we had to fight as war toaday I'll take the F-16 thank you very much.

Some good points, Pauly

Seems if you want to use screwcaps, adjust your practices accordingly. Watch the interactions between sulfides, thiols and SO2.

Screw caps seem to be more consistent in the amount of oxygen permeation than cork, so the outcome thru aging should be much more predictable. At least according to Roger Boulton!

Brian - be careful with racking to rid of H2S...consider copper sulfate as an alternative.

Rack before you get H2S.

I never bottle wine with H2S issues. In the past, some might be slightly reduced, but I'll be sure to get some air into them... or add copper sulfate. We're racking this weekend, so I should get a good feel for how the wines are doing.

Not sure why I'm even bothering to reply, as this poster is clearly a member of the cork industry, but "cork advocate" cites all the bullsh!t the cork industry has been spouting for years that has prevented truly addressing the issue of cork taint. To suggest that buying more expensive corks solves the problem is ignorant to the extreme.

Screw caps do not cheapen the industry - they provide a solution to a problem the cork industry has been too lazy to solve themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by winerugger:
A.P. Vin-

What'd you think of the SouthCorp study?

winerugger...
i think it was a very informative study and read...albeit...it was really to show that "twisties" were better...in the most unbiased fashion. my conclusion once reading it a few times was very similar to the studies conclusion...O2 was really not a vital role in evolution...synthetics allowed a bit more O2 vs. my comfort level (even for younger/earlier drinking wines) and that reductive characteristics in an anaerobic environment were not substantial nor considered to be unacceptable.

i found the tables with all the chemical analysis post bottling to be very useful. lots of statistics to ponder.

andrew

Cork Advocate,

You should consider working on your English before stepping forward to represent the cork industry in a public forum - you come off sounding like an idiot.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric White:
Cork Advocate,

You should consider working on your English before stepping forward to.... in a public forum - you come off sounding like an idiot.

Ouch.
I sense a conspiracy though. What if in order to discredit cork lovers across the globe and weaken their defenses, the evil masters from the bottling plant sent out their spy ahead of the moving troops?

Wow, lol - Looks like Mr. Cork took my advice and has deleted his post (for those that now see my comment as somewhat out of context).

Cork Advocate,
I don't need a study or opinion poll to tell me which closures are best. I think a lot about your obvious fetish every time I'm pouring my $50 bottle down the sink.
And if there was no way to limit people to just one vote in that poll, then I would find it highly suspect.

Very interesting.

Golf,

... and who would ever pay for bottled water when you can get it for free!!!

Brian,

Great move!!

I've got an idea for your labels...CORKSCREWS.

Mike

In my opinion, "twist offs" or "screwcaps" suffer from the same PR problem of Chablis, Zinfandel, and Chianti. For years they were marketed in a manner not representative of the actual quality. I still get a chuckle out of some friends when I suggest a Chianti at a light dinner, because the first thing they think of are the cheap Chianti in the pear-shaped bottle. Chablis and [white] Zinfandel suffer from similar marketing problems, in my opinion.

So, while most winos are on board with the notion of non-cork closures, it will take some time before most consumers will catch on. I've been happily purchasing screwcap Oregon Pinots, including Argyle; I'll be happy to buy a Loring with the same when it's available.

I also don't like synthetics. To me it's like wearing a fake Rolex. You want the prestige and ceremony of something traditional and high-quality; howevere, you don't want to deal with the nuances of ownership. In the same of a Rolex it's cost; in the case of natural cork it's TCA.

Brian, I would be curious if you have received less complaints/returns as a result of your use of alternative closures.

Brian, by any chance, is this the mobile bottling/screwcap company you're using? I just ask because my Dad met the owner recently and told me about his company.

Top it Off Bottling