Screw caps vs. corks

Incidentally I have my pink carbon copies in front of me. I numbered wines from 1 to 21, then from R1 to R18. I have "=" signs (obviously both samples being equally good), "A"s and "B"s, but have no idea right now, which wine it was nor whether A was cork or screw top. For R18 both samples were oxidized.

In fact I tasted rather fast to deliver my tasting sheet (was under time pressure at the time), so I didn't bother to put down anything else.

But you are right, Ian, if there would have been an older wine under scrwecap *with* a serious problem, I would have remembered it.

M.

A recent mailout from Te Mata Estate (Hawke Bay NZ) announces a new closure for their flagship white wines, "DIAM" corks. Te Mata closure policy is outlined on their website

cheers greybeard

Very interesting.....is this good wine?

Being from USA I am not familiar.

I do think their policy is pretty much what I and others have been saying. Stelvin-screw caps may not be good for long term.

OK Proney....shoot back on this. Mark Lipton...you to since you are more scientific.

Hi Richard, This winery has a very high reputation in NZ. Their flagship red 'Coleraine' rated by local scribe Michael Cooper in his book Buyers Guide to NZ wine 2006 as 1 of the 24 best available wines. Similar for the flagship chardonnay 'Elsdon'. IMHO the '98 Elsdon at 4-5 years old was the best nz chardonnay I've drunk.

When I say the best 24 wines, that's all varieties and labels. So Te Mata has

2 listings. Top NZ winery on that basis would be Dry River at 5 listings. There are only 4 SB's listed BTW: Cloudy Bay; Hunters Marlb; Hunters Winemaker & Palliser Estate.

cheers greybeard

Hey, Dick,

Let's have some manners here, please.

le/on Mon, 06 Mar 2006 01:24:18 GMT, you said:-

Do you think it equally courteous to refer to one of the most eminent wine experts in Europe by his misspelt surname and Mark with his first name? I think you've been extremely rude to Michael Pronay on several occasions.

Whether you agree with him or not, it's no good saying things that are inexcusable with one breath and then saying "oh it's a joke" the next. If you make jokes on Usenet, you really should flag them with some kind of smiley.

Dick,

I would like to make two points - in view of the furore some remarks have caused, may I respectfully suggest that you take what I am writing seriously.

Please do not rush a response without giving some thought.

(1) An American mentor of mine once said to me "Don't f*ck with anyone's name. Just don't do it!"

To each of us, our name is sacred.

I respect yours. Kindly respect others - yes, right down to the spelling.

My full name is Alexander Andrew St.Helier-Bourke - I am Andrew - but I am immensely proud of my family's association with St.Helier in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.

Dick, don't f*ck with my name.

Likewise, Michael Pronay is a respected correspondent within this group.

Read that again - Michael Pronay. ^^^^^^^ Stop bastardising his, or anyone else's name - be it deliberate or carelessness - it is insulting.

(2) You have been told - often, by several correspondents - that we humans have varying degrees of sensitivity to TCA.

Why is it so hard for you to accept that?

You keep repeating along the lines that > "My numbers on TCA on Cork taint is no where near what he suggests happens every day." and that "I have no answer for that."

The answer is quite clear. Both Michael Pronay and Mark Lipton are very

*very* sensitive to TCA.

You are probably, just like me (and Ian Hoare!) - a whole lot less sensitive.

Yes, it is true.

Michael and Mark recognise a whole lot more wines as being affected than you and I.

The rather high % oft quoted seem on the high side to me; but I am one of the lucky ones who do not detect TCA at lower levels.

But these figures are not "manufactured" out of thin air - they are wine industry figures.

When I was involved in the winemaking industry, the winemaker I worked most closely with once told me that upwards of 15% of "our" wines were tainted by the cork.

To me, that figure was more likely to be 1% or 2% - but I wasn't going to dispute his assessments.

Whether Stelvin or other closures is/are the answer is a moot point - and we should continue to debate this.

But, just because *you* think the figures are way too high, does not mean that the higher numbers are not true.

May I respectfully suggest that you take a little more care over the sensitive subject of people's names, and accept that maybe there *is* something in this TCA issue which is beyond your detection levels.

By all means, drink wines bottled under cork only, if that is your want - support the cork industry as much as you like - and as vociferously as you can - but temper your enthusiasm with a little respect, if you please.