A reader tipped me off to the fact that LENNDEVOURS was mentioned is Newsday today.
The topic of the short piece is Paumanok Vineyards' being the first Long Island winery to employ screwcaps. I let you guys know about this back in August and I'm quoted in Mark Harrington's piece. A comment that Bill of Loving Long Island left on my original post was also quoted.
I didn't know that buyers of wine futures can opt to have their wines bottled under cork or screwcap. That's a pretty interesting thing. I'm curious to hear how many buyers choose the screwcaps.
One question though: is the 1% figure quoted considered accurate in the industry? I've always heard at least 5% and up to 10% of wines closed with traditional cork are corked.
It would be interesting to know what the financial benefit is to the wineries to make the switch. I agree, uncorking is part of the pleasant anticipation of drinking a glass of wine. I am afraid it will feel like I spent $20 for a bottle of Boone's Farm Apple Wine, to save the wineries a few cents. Does anyone else feel this way?
Posted by: Mashed Potatoes | November 19, 2007 at 10:39 AM
Lenn: Congrats on the national mention. And I, too, have heard figures upwards of 10% of wines that wind up tainted when using corks.
Mashed Potatoes: Using screwcaps rather than corks might save the wineries a few cents ... but in the long run it could save us (the consumers) many dollars by ensuring the wine we buy isn't tainted.
Sure, some of the romance (or 'foreplay' as Bill refers to it) is lost when opening wine via a screwcap, but the *real* experience of wine is what comes after the wine is poured. After all, how many people do you hear reminiscing: "Wow! That was a great pop!" rather than "Wow! That was a great wine!" ;)
Posted by: Stevie Ann Rinehart | November 19, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Lenn: Congrats on the national mention. And I, too, have heard figures upwards of 10% of wines that wind up tainted when using corks.
Mashed Potatoes: Using screwcaps rather than corks might save the wineries a few cents ... but in the long run it could save us (the consumers) many dollars by ensuring the wine we buy isn't tainted.
Sure, some of the romance (or 'foreplay' as Bill refers to it) is lost when opening wine via a screwcap, but the *real* experience of wine is what comes after the wine is poured. After all, how many people do you hear reminiscing: "Wow! That was a great pop!" rather than "Wow! That was a great wine!" ;)
Posted by: Stevie Ann Rinehart | November 19, 2007 at 10:57 AM
Foreplay with a wine bottle? Maybe transfering some of that psycho-sexual energy to a more appropriate target would be in order. It's a container, people, not an altar. Pulling a cork is a nasty, dirty chore that sometimes has to be done before the joy can ensue.
Posted by: Bradley | November 19, 2007 at 12:53 PM
I said something worth quoting?
At one of the Stony Brook classes Eric Fry said the corked rate is about 1 bottle per case (8%). That is significant and it makes me wonder why things haven't changed sooner.
I'm not really against screw caps, and I agree with you, Stevie Ann, that it's the wine we remember not the cork. It's just that I love opening the bottle. I never let anyone else do it.
But I've had my share of corked wine and it can be very disappointing. If screw caps solve the problem, great, I'll forgo the foreplay.
Posted by: Bill | November 19, 2007 at 05:20 PM
Cork is a lot like lumber - there are different grades and levels of quality. Typically the more you pay, the higher (i.e. clearer) the quality of the cork. An 8% rate is way too high. Most estimates in the industry range from 0.5-2.0% worldwide. Still a problem, but nothing is perfect. Also, one cannot say there won't be a certain percentage of "off" wines that have been closed with a screw-cap - mostly due to problems with reduction. For me, I'll take my chances with the old stand-by.
Posted by: Rich | November 19, 2007 at 06:16 PM
Congrats on the national mention, Lenn. It's always great to see an influential blog get noticed by the mainstream. I recently wrote a blog post about a Washington state winery, Hogue Cellars, that has been studying screwcaps for a few years. Rather than sending you to my blog post(although you're always welcome to visit, of course!) here is the URL to the information on Hogue's site: http://hoguecellars.com/feature/homework.html
Cheers,
Margot
Posted by: Margot-Write for Wine | November 19, 2007 at 08:57 PM
I've made home made wine for over 5 years now. I have never had a corked wine bottle. 20 different varieties and at least 5 to 10 gallons of each, many more on some.,all bottled with corks. Left on their sides for years there is some bleed through but narry a bottle corked. Todays wines are not ment to be stored over a long period of time, no matter what the owners say. Have you every opened a flat bottle of sprite/coke/pepsi long after the expiration date?? Ptuey..I'll stick with long #1 corks..Thanks for listening..Tom..
Posted by: thomas campion | November 22, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Just found your site through NEWSDAY and it's very interesting. P:S: A nice PIESPORTER is an excellent choice for turkey. This wine is seldom mention but I think to much writting is spent trying to pair the wines in vogue with a menu for an upcomming dinner party. Just a thought..Tom..
Posted by: thomas campion | November 22, 2007 at 12:52 PM
Just found your site through NEWSDAY and it's very interesting. P:S: A nice PIESPORTER is an excellent choice for turkey. This wine is seldom mention but I think to much writting is spent trying to pair the wines in vogue with a menu for an upcomming dinner party. Just a thought..Tom..
Posted by: thomas campion | November 22, 2007 at 12:53 PM