2007-04-06 
 

screwed

Living so close to wine country and having a fondness for a good red wine, I can't help but get caught up in the latest debate raging through the wine world.

Actually, it's not a new debate. I first learned of it several years ago on our trip to Costanoa, and it may be even older than that. We had a Bonny Doon wine there that had a screw cap and a little advertising piece that explained why screw caps were, in fact, superior to the cork. It explained that most wineries won't switch because of the stigma screw caps seem stuck with: that of only being used on cheap inferior wines.

Since then I've encountered more and more brands that employ a screw cap. Some of them excellent wines. In fact, most have been as good or better than the corked wines within the same price range.

That said, there's something in the experience of decorking a bottle that I miss when opening up one of the screw tops. I'm sitting here with a perfectly fine Syrah on the desk waiting for me to take another sip, but the screw cap opening of the bottle lacked something that leaves me feeling just a touch deflated. I suspect I'm missing the mini ceremony of getting out the corkscrew, placing it carefully over the head of the bottle, making sure the twists are true, and then the satisfying POP as the bottle releases the cork. A mini winegasm if you will.

Seeing that cork is less environmentally friendly, I'm not going to advocate we keep it forever. Change can be hard, but is often for the best. Still, I'm glad that this change seems to be moving along slowly, and that I can anticipate many mini ceremonies in the future.

Labels: dose of mikey, random review, san francisco

* posted by me at 1:24 AM

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