Case closed

Cheers, June, 2004 by Jack Robertiello

Wine makers worldwide are nearing a crossroad, one where traditional methods and contemporary business demands intersect. I'm talking about wine closures, specifically the growing trend among wine makers to switch from problematic cork to a method which promises clean, reliable and convenient use: screw-tops. Watching from the outside, it's clear that if the Californians follow New Zealand and Australian wine makers, who have leapt into the 21st century of wine, every restaurateur, sommelier and server in the country will need to change their ways.

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The problems of cork are mainly two-fold. We've all had the annoying experience of pulling a cork that crumbles and breaks, leaving handfuls of dust and a sheepish feeling for any server. But that's not the worst. As the world wine industry banks on growing wine consumption, bottles that reek of damp cardboard and dank basements are becoming less and less acceptable. Trichloroanisole, known as tca, is the culprit in this taint related to cork, and while it is variously blamed on poor winemaking habits and improper cleansing, the taint can be dramatically reduced by the substitution of screw-top closures for cork. It's what some powerful U.K. wine merchants have demanded, and now no white wines from NZ and fewer each year from Australia are sold there with cork closures.

Until recently, I favored screw-tops, especially in wine meant to be consumed within a year or two of bottling, because they seemed to eliminate the negatives and made wine more accessible, something the industry relentlessly proclaims is important. But at the Monterey Wine Festival last month, I discovered first-hand other advantages of screw-tops. I sat on a panel with the wildman of California winemaking, Randall Graham of Bonny Doon, and New York winemaker Dave Peterson of Swedish Hill and Goosewatch. Graham brought the same wine finished with cork and screw-top finishes, and Peterson brought the same sealed with cork, synthetic cork and screw-top.

To the surprise of most attendees, Graham's argument, that wines sealed with screw-top closures actually can be fresher and show better, was borne out; the screw-top finished wines that day were significantly better-tasting, according to most who attended.

What's this mean for you? You may have already puzzled out how to handle serving screw-top New Zealand white wines, but soon, there will be many more to confront. Increasingly, Californian and even French winemakers, like Lurton, are bottling lower-end but solid wines with screw-tops. If consumers accept them at retail, these winemakers may be emboldened to put higher priced wines under the same seal. Restaurateurs need to prepare servers for this, because changes are coming fast, as better known wine companies start shipping cases of screw-finished wines. Did somebody say "tipping point"?

Jack Robertiello, Editor, Cheers