in wine today

To cork or not to cork
By Georges Meekers

Here’s an update on one of the first In Wine Today columns about natural cork versus synthetic corks and the growing number of alternatives such as the screw cap (IWT 16/03/2001).

From various articles in the trade press one learns that the spotlight seems to have moved from yesterday’s darling plastic cork to the Stelvins, the technical name for screw caps.

Many people still insist on cork closures, disdaining screw caps. They believe the bottle stopper is an indicator of quality. Well, it shouldn’t be.

In the United States, Stelvins got their boost at the Napa Valley Wine Action where the Plumpjack winery attached a bid of Lm 23,000 for a case of its 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, six bottles of which were sealed with Stelvins. The auction drew attention to the decision by Plumpjack to seal half of its entire 1,800 bottle production in this way, charging more for them than for bottles with corks.

Australia’s premier Riesling producers from the prestigious Clare Valley in South Australia enjoying a renaissance with high quality Rieslings that age well, are also showing a new-found fascination for screw cap closures.

The decision of 14 Clare Valley winemakers to bottle part of their 2000 harvest premium Rieslings in screw cap bottles attracted much publicity. But they are not the only Riesling producers to turn their back on the traditional cork.

Pewsey Vale in the Eden Valley (Adelaide Hills, Australia) bottled a small parcel of its 1995 classy, cool climate wines under screw cap and the first two vintages have only been released recently.

So far Pewsey Vale Rieslings are not imported into Malta. These wines are renowned for their exceptional ageing ability. The screw cap closures should assure lovers of aged Rieslings that the ageing potential of these wines will be maximised.

The most exciting aspect of these stories has been the enthusiasm with which the ‘Stelvins wines’ have been received.

Geoffrey Grossett, the most high profile of the Clare producers and a terrific white wine specialist, says that the only complaint he’s had was from customers who missed out on the screw cap bottles and were forced to take the ones with corks!

Still the question remains whether the bottles sealed this way will age or not.

Anyone who wishes to know more about the cork issue can visit the website www.corkwatch.com.