So Mr sasquatch… you only buy wine to lay down and keep?

Another reasonably well known expert…

“Even wine guru Hugh Johnson thinks so. His May 2015 column in Decanter magazine proclaimed that “I am faintly irritated now when I come to open a bottle of wine and find I need a corkscrew.” Gosh! The screw-cap is “incomparably better” than natural cork, he says”

Some estimates say upto 5% of naturally closed wines have cork taint. Perhaps you don’t have the sophisticated palate that lets you recognise it? 😉

The bag inside the box

ah sorry, thought you meant this 😳

For one, a screwtop gives a far larger airspace above the wine, unless you believe it’s a perfect vaccum. So potentially more air space, more air, and if nothign else, a small extra area for the wine to slosh around in the bottle through the packaging, distribution and storage phase of it’s shelf life, before it even gets to the boot of the consumers vehicle and thrown about a few hours before opening

The bottle will be purged with inert gas immediately before filling.
The Australian Wine Research Institute began trials of screw caps on Riesling in the 70’s. We tried these wines at uni & they are ageing beautifully. Don’t believe the hype that you need corks for ageing.
In the 90’s, much of the cork sent to the new world was rubbish. The big boys in europe got the good stuff.
Not held back by rules & tradition, we jumped on screw caps & haven’t looked back. It’s not perfect & can be damaged & leak if you knock the top. The bottling line also needs fine adjustment to get perfect as well.
There is nothing more disappointing than a corked Grand Cru Burgundy & 1 in 8 will.

I don’t buy any other wine than French, I’ve tried wines from all over the world but it’s the French that make the best wine by a long long way IMO. I’m a huge fan of the Bordeaux region in particular, this vast area is where I source my Glug from.

Screwtops or not, it’s whats in the bottle and how its made that counts far more.

I remember a presentation from George Fistonich at Villa Maria, who asked us to consider that screw caps came first and we had to sell the virtue of wedging a lump of wood into the top of a bottle instead of a screw cap.

The screw cap may have performed perfectly, but let’s replace it with something compromised from the start instead, you know, for theatre. 1 in 10 bottles will not be the quality or taste the winemaker intended because of TCA or oxidisation through ill fitting or poor quality wood, but it’ll make a great sound when it pops out…

but it’s the French that make the best wine by a long long way IMO.

😆

actually – I think what this thread shows is it is who is waiting for the wine to come out of the Bottle that counts as much as what is in it. Huge amounts of preconceptions and snobbery abound. Lots of people out there who still think that taking a cork out 30 minutes before “lets it breathe”. Yep, that 2cm diameter circle interface with air will help 750mls breathe…

Uhh, there’s some pretty substantial diffusion [in comparison to the time spent in the bottle with the sealing in place] going on there, shirley?

Maybe. They also make some of the worst – some of which is sold at premium prices. If you’re spending a lot on a bottle and know what you’re doing then French wine might be the only choice, but wine from other countries more often than not is better if you’re spending less than £10 a bottle (I appreciate there are some here who would consider £10 a bottle awfully cheap!)

Yeah, if you compare it with something tiny, then it is huge. Not huge enough to make any real difference, but who cares?

I care, kinda.

“I drink a lotta liquor wine but I don’t drink piss”

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2okVVsviboM[/video]

A preference for cork is just nostalgia and snobbery.

It also keeps the cork oak forests going on a commercial footing. Which is nice.

aracer – Member
bikebouy » it’s the French that make the best wine by a long long way IMO.
Maybe. They also make some of the worst –

Well I’ve drank enough of it over the years, it’s my preferred taste and thats fine by me.

Its the poor quality and random ingredients and flavonoids that put me right off anything from anywhere else, Italy and Spain included in that.

Thx – devash. V interesting

(I appreciate there are some here who would consider £10 a bottle awfully cheap!)

and yet some think it expensive!!

Uhh, there’s some pretty substantial diffusion [in comparison to the time spent in the bottle with the sealing in place] going on there, shirley

not a lot in 30 mins – and compared with just pouring it into a jug, or using decent sized glasses like Riedel – almost nothing – just one of those myths than won’t die.

A jug?!

I see your point. I just drink out of the bottle so it makes a difference to me 😉

The debate has been raging for years. I remember reading about a blind test that was carried out with a panel of French wine experts, comparing wines from corked bottles with wines from screwcap bottles; the experts were completely unable to tell the difference.

If there are folk who still think that wine from around the workd is all bottled at source and shipped over need to read up on how wine is shipped these days…

Yep tankers and bottles for the mainstream, best to get shipped from source 😉

Real cork is for stuck up French bell whiffs who have their heads buried in the sands of ignorance.

jambalaya – Member

I only buy wine with a cork

Q.
E.
D.

😆

Twenty years a go I would only buy wine with a cork now unless it was a red I would be a bit suspicious of a cork. It is ages since I have had a corked wine and either begrudged the waste or had the awkward hassle of rejecting it (never had a row always an apology and a replacement but the process always feels awkward)

Shame really as I have some really nice corkscrews.

Attitudes towards the relative merits of wine are ENTIRELY to do with snobbery and have nothing to with factual science. See also; posh watches, overpriced automobiles, overly expensive pushbikes for non cutting edge competition use. It’s ALL about personal image, and nothing to do with actual flavour/timekeeping/performance. Just wealth/’status’ signalling in varying degrees.

Pretty sure the cork growing regions are suffering because of the death of the industry

My wife’s from a cork growing region so I’m in favour of cork, and as pretty much all Spanish wine sold in Spain comes with a cork it’s not like I have much of a choice anyway!

And yes, the sound of the corkscrew squeaking into the cork and the “plop!” when you pull it out – all part of the fun.

It’s ALL about personal image, and nothing to do with actual flavour/timekeeping/performance. Just wealth/’status’ signalling in varying degrees.

Rubbish – get beyond a certain price and you might have a point, but the difference between a tetrabrik of Don Simon and even a 5€ bottle of wine is huge. Same with a 100€ BSO and a 500€ bike.

get beyond a certain price and you might have a point, but the difference between a tetrabrik of Don Simon and even a 5€ bottle of wine is huge.

okay, fair point! 😆 I should clarify, I was talking about actual wine, not wine style beverages! And in a similar vein, I wouldn’t consider a BSO as a ‘proper’ bike. My point is about diminishing returns in actual measurable quality, vs pure status signalling, I suppose.

how wine is shipped these days…

Freeze dried granules in bulk carrier ships?

Soooooo….

Plastic corks?

They don’t grow on trees

Worst of both worlds really, but give you back that little ceremony for drink-now wine.

gofasterstripes – Member

Soooooo….

Plastic corks?

I will look for you, I will find, and I think you know the rest.

I was also told by an ex that a big indent for your thumb was a sign of quality.
As an aside I havent had wine for month then had a couple of glasses which made me feel quite unwell, I think I’ll stay off it for a little longer.

A mate of mine used to do the Beaujolais Nouveau run when he was driving HGV’s. He used to invite us over for a ‘wine tasting’. The best wine money could buy was (IMO) proper nasty, & it had corks in!
Much prefer the cheapo screw top stuff from Lidl or Aldi.

Some right snobs on here but It’s all a matter of taste.

esselgruntfuttock, if he was a mate, he wouldn’t serve you the beaujolais!
NSF non-sweary people
[video]http://youtu.be/M0NbzJwYMzY[/video]

esselgruntfuttock, if he was a mate, he wouldn’t serve you the beaujolais!

He used to pick up from various vineyards all over France & deliver to various vintners in Britain. He had LOTS of spare wine, especially beaujolais. At the right time of year obviously.

The best wine money could buy was (IMO) proper nasty, & it had corks in!
Much prefer the cheapo screw top stuff from Lidl or Aldi.

Newly bought expensive wine with cork: probably meant to be cellared for (at least) a few years before being drunk.

Cheap wine with screw top: ready to drink now.

^^ basically what Graham says with the caveat that plenty of £30-50 NZ and Aussie wines come with a screw top. My wife was horrief when I bought 3 reds from wine society for £100 in total and they all had screw tops. We probably buy 200-300 bottles a year and the vast majority are cork sealed

I’m not surprised – she probably hadn’t realised she’d married such a cheapskate.

These days we can spec a screw cap with different oxygen transmission rates for ageing different wines.
Cork is dead. (to us, we use Diam for sparkling)

I bought a bottle of Rustenburg that has a screw top and it says it will improve with age up to 10 years from the bottling date (5 years from now)

These days we can spec a screw cap with different oxygen transmission rates for ageing different wines.

I don’t do New World Wines either.