News - Screw caps better for sav blanc than corks

Screw caps are better than corks at preserving the fruity bouquet of New Zealand's signature sauvignon blanc wines according to a two-year scientific study conducted by wine researchers at The University of Auckland.

The news comes as a further blow to traditionalists who favour the cork stopper. The cork is already under fire for 'corking' a percentage of wines, something the screw cap has already been proven to prevent.

The findings have been supported by leading New Zealand wineries Villa Maria Estate and Kumeu River.

The study was commissioned by the wine industry's Screw Cap initiative, led by Michael Brajkovich, and undertaken by researchers at The University of Auckland's Faculty of Science. The research team was led by Dr Laura Nicolau, a lecturer in the University's Department of Wine Science.

"We compared the aromas of bottles that had been sealed with corks and screw caps using a GCMS machine, which is a scientific instrument used to measure and analyse smells. The analysis revealed that the two fruity thiols (aromatic elements) we looked at were up to 23% higher in the bottles using screw caps," says Dr Nicolau.

The two thiols studied were those with aromas of passion fruit and box tree, as well as those with a grapefruit element. These tropical smells lose their power markedly when they come into contact with oxygen, which explains why sauvignon blanc can lose its fruity character after one or two years.

Further analysis by the research team, however, showed that the cork and the screw cap were equally efficient at preventing oxygen getting into the bottle. Dr Nicolau said the team suspects the difference is either a result of more oxygen getting into the bottle when it is corked up or that the aromas are actually absorbed by the cork over time. The team plans to do more research into this area.

George Fistonich, Managing Director of Villa Maria Estate, supports the findings.

"At Villa Maria, we have conducted comparative tastings in Sauvignon Blanc and other varietals after 12 months and two years in bottles, with professional tasters in both our US and UK markets, as well as in New Zealand. In all cases, the opinions on the wines sealed with screw caps were that they were fresher and retained their varietal aromas much better than corks. We have sealed all our wines with screw caps since 2002 and have almost totally eliminated our credit returns from oxidised and cork-tainted wines."

Reply to
st.helier
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"st.helier" skrev i melding news:URIpf.9116$ snipped-for-privacy@news.xtra.co.nz...

Hooray!! Anders

Reply to
Anders Tørneskog

Nothing *really* new. ;-)

M.

Reply to
Michael Pronay

Blasphemy!!! :-)

Reply to
Richard Neidich

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