My first synthetic cork

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
I just corked a bottle of Monte Antico red wine from Tuscan Italy. It cost about $30 in the store. ($60 in the restraunt where we had it first)

This is my first bottle with a "fake" cork. I read that they were switching to it but that they were also switching back after a backlash of people wanting real cork.

Is this common? Synthetic Corks that is?

In "Practical Winery & Vinyard" magazine the ads for non-cork wine bottle closures are many. One of the most interesting is the Zork. They have a marketing agent in the US.

[jyl]

Your first synthetic cork? You must drink better wine than I do . . .

[Dottore]

Originally posted by scottmandue
Those screw tops REALLY mess with my corkscrew!

Seriously, can you imagine having a romantic dinner with you wife/girlfriend... and a screw top bottle of fine wine?

Corks will eventually be widely replaced with screwtops - because that's actually a more efficient way of sealing most wines. Most Swiss wines for example are now screwtops - regardless of price of the bottle. Just a question of educating the consumer.

But there will probably always be those who think that cork = class, just as there will always be Wayne Newton fans.

[Joeaksa]

I have some 80's vintage Far Niente and that cork better not be going bad!

That said, I would rather pay $5 bux less for a bottle of my favourite swill than have a nice cork in the top. As long as they syn version works can live with it on the cheaper "daily use" wines.

Joe

[targa911S]

Wine comes in something other than a box? Wow, I'll have to check my 7/11 on Friday.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by greglepore
$30 for Antico?!!!

Its 12.99 here in Pa, with our absurd liquor laws, and 7.99 in Jersey. Its going to be the house red in my bar/restaurant, as its a screaming deal in good years. The '90 was unbelievable. It ages really well for 2-3 yrs in the bottle, but dies beyond that. The vinyard is adjacent to many of the great brunello vinyards.

I do like synth cork, but its hell on a screwpull style corkscrew.

I bought it at Disney's Epcot Center. Ever been there? A hamburger costs $8. I was not sure if I could get this wine anywhere else at the time so I bought a bottle at Epcot and probably paid twice as much.

I will have to go to te wine store and see if I can find it locally.

[Rodeo]

In RI, Monte Antico goes for between $10 and $13 usually. It's a great bargin for a really nice bottle!

For around the same price point, they also have a brand called "Bollini." It comes in Pinot Grigo, Chardonnay, Cab, and some other varities. Fine wine at really reasonable prices.

You can't go wrong with an Empson & Co. bottle, in my very biased opinion

[Moses]

I had a whole bunch of beautiful '85 cabs. Lost about1/3 of them due to bad corks.

I lost some Caymus special select, Silver Oak and took a bottle of Opus to a restaurant and the sommelier returned to our table with a face just as sour as the wine. Big disappointment.

I'm not sure if some degree of cork permeability is important for proper ageing of reds. If it's not, I'd rather have a screwtop or synthetic cork and stop losing nice wines.

[304065]

Moses, I have a few extra Silver Oaks 93, 96 Napa and Alex. Valley that I am willing to trade, what do you have that is interesting?

I am a big fan of the Stelvin closure, now that our benevolent FDA has eliminated lead capsules. The replacement plastic capsules or worse, the sharp aluminum ones, have destroyed the cork aesthetic. Might as well go with the better engineering solution.

In Europe, a screwcap closure is becoming accepted on the most sought-after wines. It's not the closure that you drink anyway.

[Moses]

Originally posted by john_cramer
Moses, I have a few extra Silver Oaks 93, 96 Napa and Alex. Valley that I am willing to trade, what do you have that is interesting?

I have some '90 BR Cohn and one of my all-time favorites is Stonestreet Legacy. I have a lot of BV cabs as well.

[Jims5543]

If any of you guys are interested in 90 Vintage Dom PM me. My friend has lots and lots in special storage, some in Millenium boxes.

I think he wants $150 a bottle.

[motion]

I telephoned a Nor Cal winery a few years ago asking about the synth corks they had started using. Their people told me it was because a small percentage of their users had some type of allergy against the cork. Go figure.

[Moses]

Originally posted by motion
...a small percentage of their users had some type of allergy against the cork. Go figure.

I wish they could make reds without sulfites. I have a friend who loves wine, but sulfites give him instant migraines. Bummer.

[Nostril Cheese]

That is why I cant drink wine, Moses.

Instant migrane

[efhughes3]

You need to drink more....I think I've seen a few here and there for a year or so now. I also just had my first screw top, once you get past the cheap "feel", it probably makes sense.

I've got some Silver Oaks, Quintessas and some Bordeauxs that I keep my fingers crossed on.....

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by Moses
I wish they could make reds without sulfites. I have a friend who loves wine, but sulfites give him instant migraines. Bummer.

Funny, after five or six rum and cokes I get a headache... do you suppose the put sulfites in that stuff too?

[Moses]

Originally posted by fastpat
One of the most interesting is the Zork.

That looks like a great design.

[vash]

i wish some great wines would come from a box. for those one glass evenings, it would work out nicely.

[wludavid]

Originally posted by Don Plumley
From a vitner's perspective, it's not just a "proper storage" issue. Some percentage of corks are tainted with TCA and we go through stretches of corked wines that is sobering.

(rimshot) Good one. Not being able to drink wine IS sobering.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by jyl
Your first synthetic cork? You must drink better wine than I do . . .

They don't put cork closures on plastic bag wines as far as I know.