screw caps

They are supposed to have a better air seal and a longer life than corks. They just are not very romantic.

That whole air transfer story is probably not correct anyway. If a corked bottle is stored properly with a quality cork and the seal is good there is no reason or way for air to get in.

The better machine applied screw caps are often considered to be good wine closures. Cheap plastic ones may not be good for several years. There is a better plastic one but I don't use it for wine so have no opinion on it. It is reusable and has an inner plastic seal, I use it on vinegar.

All that said, I am using Nomacorq now and really like them. I have no idea how long they are good for, the literature says 3 years as I recall. Joe

Bigger problem is getting new screw caps. In general, each type of screw top bottle uses a different top.

For example, I cannot find new tops for Wild Vines bottles. New tops for Arbor Mist bottles (unless they have changed in the last 2-3 years) are available from many wine making shops.

Steve

Ray, I thought air could and did travel slowly through the cork itself.

Everything I have read says the newer screw caps are best at this and the synthetics are worst.

Now the debate is whether complete closure is always desirable.

A number of studies have shown that screw caps are superior to corks or any other seal. But all the studies used special screw caps that are NOT screwed on. They are molded on the bottle by a special machine. The machine is VERY expensive and no home winemaker is going to have one.

So how good are the types of screw caps you would have access to? No one knows.

Ray

Ray:

Not only don't we know about them, but thy also fit very few commercial screw top bottles.

Steve

Ray -

I heard Randal Graham (winemaker at Bonny Doon, a now all screw-cap winery) speak about a month ago, including answering a question on screwcaps. His studies have shown that screwcaps aren't truly airtight, but they are much tighter seals than corks, so they slow down whatever the aging process that may go on in the bottle. How much slower he couldn't and wouldn't say, and he made no claim on synthetic cork. He did seriously badmouth agglomerated corks (as did a couple other winemakers).

Air certainly can get through a cork, just as it can get through a barrel.

Alas there is the Carlo Rossi screw cap 4 litre bottle. You transfer the contents to two 2 litre soda bottles, label them, and give them as presents. Sanitize the bottle and the cap and you have a winner.

I use them as 4L carboys.

Dick

Alas there is the Carlo Rossi screw cap 4 litre bottle.

But if you can't find any empties, you gotta drink the stuff first!...uggh!

Buy some Carlo Rossi Chablis. Add oak chips. Afer a month bottle. Not bad Chardonnay. Plus, you have a nice gallon bottle for winemaking. I've used Carlo Rossi Chablis to test different types and amounts of oak cubes, chips, extract, etc. Works quite well.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

The bad news is I went to two liquor stores and put up notices that I would pay $2 each for empties - no takers.

Dick

I buy that stuff to cook with.

I have a ton of 4 liter bottles that I got from the recycling bins here. I stopped grabbing them I have so many. I might have to revisit that though since I do not make as many 5-6 gallon batches anymore....once you get 5 gallons of 10 different wines bottled they start to build up year after year after year...plus a lot of wine I make anymore you really don't need more than 5 bottles of.....like parsley wine.

Dave - I'm doing some experiments with different oaks and amounts. With StaVin American medium toast cubes at 11 grams per US gallon I got a definite oak aroma and flavor. My notes say "just about right". I increased to 22 grams per gallon. Still not too much for me...Big oak aroma and flavor...not too woody. With World Cooperage French oak chips, the recommended dose of 4 grams per gallon only provided a slight oak flavor and not much aroma. At 12 grams per gallon the wine had a nice oak aroma, low oak flavor and was fruity and tart. At 20 grams per gallon very nice oak aroma and big oak flavor which over powered the fruit flavor. BTW, Carlo Rossi Chablis tests at 0.74%TA and 3.24 pH.

I'm trying to get some World Cooperage American oak chips...they are a lot less expensive than StaVin cubes. But, the Carlo Rossi Chablis, with either of the oaks tested so far , makes a good oaky white wine if that's what you like. This approach does not impart the buttery flavor.

My plan is to take the best combination from these tests and oak Chardonnay made from home grown grapes last fall. If this doesn't do it I'll buy a small barrel for next year's wine.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

DAve Allison wrote"I like Chardonnay with lots of buttery and oaky taste. How much oak chips do you use?

William Frazier wrote "Buy some Carlo Rossi Chablis. Add oak chips."

OK. Experiment complete! I converted grams to ounces, so I think 22 grams is 1.5 ounces. I "oak chipped" the gallon of Chablis for 30 days with 1.5 ounces of American oak chips. I am pouring it tonight - and I must say, pretty good. So I bottled up four 750ml bottles and have the gallon jug for other experiments. Pretty good if it is served real cold. First glass needed an ice cube (I know, heresy)but I am pleased with the result. Much better than Chablis (which is good only in a Peach/Mango Sangria I make for my wife)straight. I am still new at all this, so don't do TA and PH testing, maybe that is my next purchase.

DAve

p.s. Still missing that buttery finish, anyone know how to add that? :*)

Here's to our health.

DAve Allis> Thanks for the detailed info. I will give it a try.

Butterinuess is caused by a couple different things.

Diacetyl a product of fermentation has a buttery aroma and flavor. MLF, which turns malic acid into lactic acid gives a "buttery" flavor as well. Some buttery texture and flavor is associated with sur lie aging, although the primary flavor from that is a yeasty/bready flavor.

I may have missed something earlier in this thread, but I'm pretty sure that 22 grams = 0.776027163 of an ounce.