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did you
know
The Australians
deserve much of
the credit for
helping pioneer
the use of
screw-cap
closures for the
past 30 years.
The real
breakthrough
came when 15
Riesling
winemakers in
Australia's
Clare Valley
decided to
bottle their
2000 vintage
with screw caps.
This effort
encouraged other
winemakers in
Australia and
elsewhere to
follow suit.
Four years ago,
less than 1
percent of New
Zealand wine was
bottled under
screw cap. That
figure is
expected to zoom
to 90 percent by
the end of 2005.
In addition
to preventing
cork taint and
keeping wines
fresher and more
consistent,
screw caps are
more
user-friendly
than corks. For
example, wines
can be cellared
standing up (as
opposed to wines
with corks that
must lie on
their sides to
keep corks
moist). Opening
a bottle is a
lot easier too.
Just twist to
break the seal
instead of
fumbling with a
corkscrew and
risking a broken
cork, or one
that gets shoved
down into the
bottle.
Resealing the
bottle is also
easier.While screw
caps appear to
have no
downside, some
people are wary
about how well
they preserve
red wines. Yet,
after five years
in the bottle,
both the cork-
and
screw-cap-sealed
1997 Plumpjack
Cabernets "aged
identically" and
"look and taste
identical,". A
2003 report
authored by
Australian wine
writer Tyson
Stelzer declared
that screw caps
were actually
superior to
corks in
preserving red
wines.
Still, many
consumers
associate screw
caps with
cheaper wines.
"There is a
perception in
the United
States that the
screw cap is a
low-class
closure. Others
say screw caps
take the
mystique out of
wine.
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