Are You A FOODIE?

Screw Tops- Learn to Love ‘em

Good Juice

by J.R. Guerra

While I wait to hear back from Mr. Chris Ringland (winemaker for R Wines), let’s discuss the screw top (something you will see on many of Ringland’s wines). Screw top wines. Love them or hate them, this trend is finally starting to win over wine drinkers. I’m pleased to finally see this, as it means I don’t have to constantly tell people the advantages of screw top bottles over the traditional cork. First of all, you’re virtually guaranteed a good seal. This keeps the wine from becoming “corked” (a broad term used to describe tainted wine, usually caused by TCA). If you want to learn more about TCA, just google it. Another reason is cost. It is cheaper for the winery to bottle wines with screw tops, thus passing on the savings to the consumer. It is definitely easier to open. You don’t have to worry about breaking a cork in half (leaving the other half in the neck of the bottle) or fighting with the synthetic corks that prove very difficult to remove. It is also better for the environment, especially with a few wineries using biodegradable screw top caps.

Ok, so there are some good reasons for wineries switching to screw top wines, but are there any good ones out there, or are they still in the same realm as box wine? Well I’m glad you asked! Loring Wine Company, who specializes in Pinot Noir, moved to screw tops exclusively in 2004. Their press release about this is still on their website, “All of our wines starting with the 2004 vintage have been sealed with a Stelvin closure. We’re committed to getting our product to you in the best possible condition, and we feel that cork’s failure rate due to TCA is unacceptable.” Of course, many Australian wineries have been doing this for quite some time. R Wines (from winemaker Chris Ringland) and Two Hands come to mind. They make excellent wines, consistently scoring 90-95 points year after year. In fact, I’m still sitting on a couple bottles of 2006 Ebenezer Shiraz from R Wines (one of the few wine bottles that proudly bears Chris Ringland’s name on it). It’s a 93 point wine that will be drinking oh so nice when I decide to twist the top on the bottle 10 years from now. Justin’s Chardonnay and Orphan (red blend) are screw top. We sell plenty of their wines and I never hear so much as a grumble. I also never hear anyone complaining when they’re poured a glass of PlumpJack wine from Napa Valley. They too were upset with the number of wines that were spoiling due to cork failures. They just got tired of losing all that expensive wine. Not only that, but the consumer doesn’t want to pour a $40-$200 bottle of wine down the drain, just because it’s corked. The PlumpJack wines also score 90-100 points year after year as well.
I still get people who wrinkle their nose when I open a bottle of wine for them by simply twisting the cap. After a brief explanation of why wineries use the screw top, their usually over it. However, I still get people who are fighting this trend. I’m a little perplexed as to why, as the obvious advantages outweigh any negatives. According to an article published by the New York Times in April of 2007, “Swiss wine leads with virtually 100 percent screwtop bottling. In New Zealand, a major wine-producing country, 90 percent is already screwcapped and making its way to market. Australia is at 60 percent, and California is not far behind.” At the time that article was published, only 7 percent of French wine was screw top. The French are going to fight it more than everyone else, but if they’re truly honest with themselves, then they will see the advantages of going screw top. Not to say that they will actually ditch the traditional cork, but at least they’ll accept why others are using screw tops.

The screw top is here to stay, so now is the time to start accepting it. Just try any of the above mentioned wines and you’ll thank me later.

Cheers, and happy sipping.

The Big Brewski
Sometimes we’re just lucky and we get our hands on some great beer that you won’t find anywhere else but here, at The Cellar Door. This is one of those times. We are proud to bring back Sierra Nevada’s Crystal Wheat, on draft. This is one of Sierra Nevada’s “specialty brews”. What does this mean to you? Well, it means that you can only enjoy it on draft at their Taproom and Restaurant, and select locations across the country. We just so happen to be one of those “select locations”. These specialty brews are brewed in small batches, so it’s not something we will always have. We had it last year, and everyone is stoked to hear of its return.

Classified as an American Pale Wheat Ale, it is brewed using two-thirds wheat malt and one-third barley malt. This filtered wheat beer is light blonde in color. Most wheat beers are cloudy, but this beer actually has some transparency to it. Toasted wheat with a touch of white pepper and hops on the nose, it leads to a very refreshing taste of grains, sweet malts, hoppiness and wheat with an almost lager-like finish. Not a bad thing, if you want to go back for more.

At 5% alcohol by volume, it stands up with any other beer, but is just so easy to drink. It aims to please, and generally does not disappoint. If you’re looking for a typical wheat beer in this, then pass on it. But if you’re looking for something light and refreshing with some actual taste, then this is your beer. I really like this beer, and drink it all on its own. I imagine it would compliment bbq food and wings very well. A great beer to enjoy with our bbq pulled pork sandwiches we feature for Monday Night Football.

We anticipate pouring through this pretty quickly, so if you want to try it, don’t wait. Once it’s gone, we won’t see another delivery of it until sometime next year (probably summer time).

Cheers, and happy sipping.