Screwcap Shelf Watch Update (a never ending series)

365 Degrees Sauvignon Blanc Bordeaux AOC
Indaba Pinotage
Riven Rock Cab/Chard/Shiraz
Sineann PG
Tablas Creek Rose
La Playa SB
Veramonte
Green GV
Gobelsberger GV
Nigl GV
Work Vineyard Napa SB

(Spotted in Whole Foods Monterey and a shop in Carmel)

At last week's VDP tasting I saw quite a few QbAs and kabinetts in screwcaps. Although I didn't take notes on that. Most producers were quite proud of the switch.

Hey, according to the other thread, Thunderbird comes in a screw cap.

Dear Hoke,
A "never ending series?" Dude, it's a blog. Or at least, it would be if you hadn't left us, your loyal readers, hanging after your first scintillating post. Here, I'll help you out:

2006 Mount Tamalpais Vineyards Vin Gris (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Marin County)
NV Matanzas Creek Rose'
2004 Winzer von Erbach Erbacher Honigberg Riesling QbA (Germany, Rheingau)
2004 Rudolf Müller Riesling QbA (Germany, Pfalz)
2004 Reichsrat Von Buhl Riesling Maria Schneider (Germany, Pfalz)
2004 Castoro Cellars Fume Blanc (USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles)
2004 Villa Wolf Dr. Loosen Riesling Saint M (Germany, Pfalz)
2004 Wishing Tree Shiraz (Australia, Western Australia)
2004 Twin Fin Pinot Noir (USA, California)
2004 La Tour du Prévôt Costières-de-Nîmes Rosé (France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Costières-de-Nîmes)
2003 Benton Lane Winery Pinot Noir (USA, Oregon)
Walt

[Jenise]

I have to add the 2005 Coldstream Hills Pinot from Australia, and a story. Took that wine to a get-together with friends last week. As I removed the twist-off lid from my wine, another guy announced that he needed a corkscrew to remove his because his wine (cheap Cali plonk, though he was oblivious to that fact) had been a birthday present (and therefore costlier than whatever he normally drinks). The message: he was going to pour me a better wine than I was going to pour him, all based on the closure.

A lot of people apparently haven't heard the news....

Just got a box of summer wines from Southern Hemisphere. Half Neil Ellis SB from SA, and half Wild Rock Vin Gris Rose' from NZ. No corkscrew this summer!

Too funny Jenise.

On the other hand I think I have related my Penticton Sandman Inn story before so I'll just repeat the ending.....the waitress picks up the bottle and wraps her hand around the neck and gives it a twist and looks perplexed. I pipe up and suggest that she will need a corkscrew. No longer perplexed...replaced by panic looking like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights of the oncoming vehicle......

[may have the vintages off]

2005 A-Mano Greco & Fiano Puglia [imported by Empson Group]

-50/50 split - terrific little summer sipper that is our "house" white

2006 Black Hills Alibi Okanagan Falls, B.C.

-Just received it about a month or so ago - predominantly sauvignon blanc with a little semillon - put the first bottle in the fridge before heading off to work this morning - will try it tonite with dinner.

I tend to like Oregon Pinot Noir and I recently ordered a half case of 2004 Ribbon Ridge, a very small producer. It came in screwcaps. I think that's my first pinot noir in screwcap.

Glenn

[Jenise]

Just received it about a month or so ago - predominantly sauvignon blanc with a little semillon - put the first bottle in the fridge before heading off to work this morning - will try it tonite with dinner.

Please post a note. I have that wine, too.

Well, you guys have me hooked!! Here are some screwcaps from downtown Edmonton, City of Champions.

A to Z P Gris.
Quails Gate Gewurztraminer.
Ch.La Freynelle Rose de Cab sauv.
Dom du Tariquet Rose.
Garretson Celeidle Rose.
Averill Creek (BC).....P Gris/PGrigio/Gewurtz/PN. Yup, 4 of them!!

Guess too much time on my hands today!

I'm not amongst the wealthy few, but those who ordered en primeur now have screwcapped $450 bottles of 2004 Penfolds Bin 60A Cab-Shiraz and Block 42 Cabernet in their hot little hands... er, cool cellars, according to information I saw on another board.
cheers,
Graeme

...and in my June 2007 copy of Wines and Vines Magazine there is a story about TCA and that it isn't just the cork to worry about.

I have known that TCA can infect wineries, but I had no idea how pervasive it has become in California.

The article is by Tim Patterson. Not sure if it is online. I get the antiquated version: print!

What is this world coming to? Is there nothing sacred in the world anymore?

Had an interesting experience at our local club when I took two bottles of wine to be enjoyed by my wife and I and our guests. The waiter comes by to open the wine, I hand him the bottle, he looks puzzled and then I realize it had a screw cap. OK, most wine geeks seem to like screwcaps but impressive it is not. The majority of the people, including wait staff and many of my friends think is is an enclosure for cheap wines.

Walt

[Jenise]

The majority of the people, including wait staff and many of my friends think is is an enclosure for cheap wines.

Walt

There is no limit to human ignorance! The other night at our neighborhood tasting, five of the wines were in the $30-60 range and one was $11. As we were pouring the wines, one of our tasters saw the pourer approach with a 1.5L bottle. "Aha!", he exclaimed, "there's the $11 wine! You didn't hide that very well, did you, Jenise?"

It was a magnum of 2001 Chateau Montelena.

I have to add the 2005 Coldstream Hills Pinot from Australia, and a story. Took that wine to a get-together with friends last week. As I removed the twist-off lid from my wine, another guy announced that he needed a corkscrew to remove his because his wine (cheap Cali plonk, though he was oblivious to that fact) had been a birthday present (and therefore costlier than whatever he normally drinks). The message: he was going to pour me a better wine than I was going to pour him, all based on the closure.

A lot of people apparently haven't heard the news....

It's true. A lot of people have not. It was beaten into their heads for so long that they simply cannot get past it: good wines have corks, and screwcapped wines are always bad.

[Jenise]

It's true. A lot of people have not. It was beaten into their heads for so long that they simply cannot get past it: good wines have corks, and screwcapped wines are always bad.

Yup. I know a number of ITB people who are trying to get the message out, but unfortunately most of the people who stop to talk about it are the ones who already understand. It will take decades to re-educate the average supermarket wine shopper who doesn't interact directly with a wine salesperson or subscribe to wine magazines.

Well, according to the article I cited, the whole argument over corks vs. screwcaps may be misplaced. He claims that even when (if?) corks are made squeaky clean, TCA will still be around, so long as chlorine is.

He points out that manufacturers of wood and cardboard products need to be made as squeaky clean as wineries should become, but without the benefit of chlorine--you know, pallets and case boxes. (Wneries can't even use chlorinated water anywhere near their production facilities.)

He talks about the extent to which some wineries have been forced to go to clean out TCA from their buildings.

[Jenise]

Thomas, which wineries? Pine Ridge comes to mind as a winery who acknowledged they had a serious problem. And Montelena comes to mind as one who has not--Jim Laube seems to think it's there but others aren't tasting it in the wines.

Thomas, which wineries? Pine Ridge comes to mind as a winery who acknowledged they had a serious problem. And Montelena comes to mind as one who has not--Jim Laube seems to think it's there but others aren't tasting it in the wines.

Patterson points out that Montelena does acknowledge the TCA presence and has in fact gone to great lengths to clean up the winery. But they decided it was in the wines in such low ppm that it is not being detected and so they sought endorsements for the wines and got them (Laube apparently is extra sensitive to TCA and has yet to be proved wrong when he calls it).

Try to get hold of Wines and Vines. It is a good read.

"Aha!", he exclaimed, "there's the $11 wine! You didn't hide that very well, did you, Jenise?"

It was a magnum of 2001 Chateau Montelena.

OK, now that's jumping to conclusions based on appearance! You've got some amusing friends.

Walt

The article Thomas is referring to is featured on the Wine and Vine website:
http://www.winesandvines.com/template.c ... tent=48435

Salute

[Jenise]

"Aha!", he exclaimed, "there's the $11 wine! You didn't hide that very well, did you, Jenise?"

It was a magnum of 2001 Chateau Montelena.

OK, now that's jumping to conclusions based on appearance! You've got some amusing friends.

Walt

My guess is that this guy is strictly a supermarket wine shopper and doesn't even know that most premium wineries bottle a small number of magnums every year. Maybe at our next tasting, I need to start out with a little education about closures and bottle sizes.

"Aha!", he exclaimed, "there's the $11 wine! You didn't hide that very well, did you, Jenise?"

It was a magnum of 2001 Chateau Montelena.

OK, now that's jumping to conclusions based on appearance! You've got some amusing friends.

Walt

My guess is that this guy is strictly a supermarket wine shopper and doesn't even know that most premium wineries bottle a small number of magnums every year. Maybe at our next tasting, I need to start out with a little education about closures and bottle sizes.

No, give him a 375ml of Blue Nun instead--tell him it's valuable!!!

Hoke, Did you see the article Wine.com toasts higher screw-cap sales

"Wine.com said Wednesday that wines with twist-off closures accounted for 17.5 percent of its wine sales for the year ending May 31, which were approximately $40 million overall. "

http://washington.bizjournals.com/sanfr ... ily31.html

Cheers,
Sue