Costco Connection - April 2007

wine connection

What’s the twist
on screw caps?

Going corkless is gaining
approval among winemakers

By Annette Alvarez-Peters

DURING A VISIT to Australia last year, I and stacked outdoors for at least six months. marveled at the spectacular view atop the hill- The strips are then boiled to kill any mold or side vineyards at Jacob’s Creek winery. As we bacteria and to increase the cork’s elasticity. sampled the 2002 Steingarten Vineyards They’re then punched out to form a cork, dis-Riesling, a wine bursting with honeysuckle, infected in a chlorine or hydrogen peroxide with an essence of white floral and fusel notes bath, graded, branded and sealed for ship- (typical in aged Riesling), I noticed some- ment to wineries. thing unusual: This fine wine had a screw But as wine production throughout the cap—and had indeed aged world has increased, so has the gracefully without the help of demand for cork, straining the acork. supply of quality material. It’s something that we’ll Inferior corks can cause a vari-see more of—and that’s not ety of problems and are prone bad. Screw caps are one of to the contamination that can several alternatives to the tra- spoil a good bottle of wine. ditional natural cork closures The culprit behind the confor bottled wines. For many tamination is trichloranisole wines, screw caps work per- ( TCA), a chemical byproduct of fectly well. They eliminate the chlorine disinfecting pro-the possibility of “corked” cess. Large-scale TCA contami-bottles—those spoiled by nation renders a wine musty a contaminated cork. And or moldy, with strong odors of they ease demand on quality ^Annette ^{Alvarez-Peters}wet cardboard. Slightly corked cork supplies. wines suffer muted flavors and

The winemaker at Jacob’s Creek provided are generally lifeless. TCA is not harmful to a lesson on the topic. A widely used version of humans, but it is lethal to wine.

the screw cap is the Stelvin capsule, designed Statistics show that fewer wines are specifically for contact with the wine while in corked these days—about 5 percent of all the bottle. The oxygen in the bottle, along with production, down from 10 percent, thanks to the small volume of air in the head space, or new alternatives to using chlorine. Still, this is ullage (the area between the cap and the a big problem by any measure and con-wine), results in a slow, limited aging process. tributes to the argument against corks.

DAN MANNING

FRANCE FREEMAN

Leading winemakers are using screw caps as an alternative to corks.

if you bring a vibrant bottle of Sauvignon Blanc with a screw cap to a garden party?

For my money and experience, I trust the screw cap. I can cellar wines safely, the bottles are easy to open and I never have to worry about the ultimate wine letdown: a corked bottle of a favorite varietal. I think we can all trade a little romance for the security and pleasure of drinking unspoiled wine. Go ahead. Experiment and enjoy! C

A departure from tradition

This is, of course, a radical departure from tradition. Wine lovers have savored the “pop” of uncorking wine for more than 400 years. Natural cork has been the most popular wine bottle closure and still is today.

Wine corks come from the bark of cork trees, a member of the oak family, grown predominantly in Portugal and Spain. The bark is stripped from the trunks and large branches

For information on Costco’s Kirkland Signature™ wines, including vintage notes and food-pairing tips, go to costco.com, click on “Costco Connection Magazine,” then “Kirkland Signature Wine Connection.”

To cork or not to cork

Annette Alvarez-Peters oversees Costco’s national wine, spirits and beer program.

Despite these benefits, questions linger about screw caps. Winemakers around the world are debating whether going corkless is right for their wines and their businesses. For about 10 percent of the world’s top wines, aging is a crucial concern: Natural cork is somewhat porous and allows necessary airflow to allow these wines to develop to their full potential. It’s debatable whether these wines can age properly with screw caps. Clearly more trials and experimentation are needed.

Costco wine list

Image is another major consideration. Are wine consumers ready for screw caps, which for many years in the United States have been associated with cheap, low-quality wines? Will there be a tide of rising eyebrows