My first synthetic cork

[Jims5543]

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?

[red-beard]

getting common

[svandamme]

can't get my mind around em
a cork has to be from cork

just like boobs have to be from fatty tissue and not sillicone
engines have to make a vrooooar sound , not bzzzzzz
anything else is just craaaaazy talk

[scottmandue]

I don't like them... mostly because they don't work well with the fancy smancy cork screw I paid $40 for!

[stomachmonkey]

Wineries like em. Less spoilage=bigger profit.

[arcsine]

Just wait ........... screw caps are going to replace corks very soon on most bottles except the absurdly expensive bottles.

[EdT82SC]

Better yet is screw top! I paid $75 for a bottle of Plumpjack cabernet with a screw top. Excellent wine by the way.

[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?

[Tobra]

Real cork works just fine if you store the bottle correctly.

Been seeing more of the fake ones(Plastic, or whatever), also the ones that are real on both ends, with particle cork in the middle.

[Nostril Cheese]

I prefer cork valve cover gaskets

[Nathans_Dad]

When I first glanced at the topics I thought this one said "My first synthetic cock".

That would have been a very different discussion...

[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. In my own home, I poured hundreds of dollars of wine down the drain because of TCA taint. It sucks.

In general, supplies from Portugal are constrained and good quality corks are becoming absurdly expensive. But synthetic corks are not forecast to become common on premium bottles. There are also reports of oxidation problems with screw caps, so they are not a panacea either. Screwcaps work well with whites because they are rarely stored for very long. The jury is still out on high-end reds - Plumpjack has the kind of customer following that will put up with it. But in a restaurant or nice dinner setting, part of the joy of opening a bottle is removing the cork, smelling for taint, then pouring. Those are lost with both kinds of synthetic closures.

Composite corks - the particleboard of the cork world is an interesting choice for lower cost wines. The ones that Tobra mentioned with the solid cork caps are becoming more widely used - mostly from an expense and adversion to synthetic closure alternative.

But whatever the closure, drink more wine!

[Rodeo]

Monte Antico is my aunt and uncle's wine! So glad you like it, we drink a lot of it around here




http://www.empson.com/

[Jims5543]

I have a '97 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (Astrale e Terra) in the cooler waiting for a special occasion. ( I wanted a '99 but they are getting really hard to find) I think it has a real cork. That synthetic one really threw me. I am used to giving it a sniff prior to the pour.

The wine, once it warmed up turned out delightful. Any fears I had after corking it were quickly dismissed.

Don - Thanks for chiming in. I am no expert at all. Your input was very informative.

I went to a vinyard over the weekend with my wife. (Bitlmore Estate winery) I was actually impressed when they stressed that wine tasting should NEVER be intimidating. Feel free to ask questions. It was very relaxed and not snooty at all and we found some really good wines and bought them.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by Rodeo
Monte Antico is my aunt and uncle's wine! So glad you like it, we drink a lot of it around here




http://www.empson.com/

It truly is a small world.

We actually found this wine in "Italy" at Epcot Center 2 years ago. We were eating in the restruant there and ordered that wine off the list. We were so impressed we asked if it was for sale and the waiter pointed us to the wine store in Epcot where we bought a bottle.

[Jims5543]

BTW- Epcots "Italy" cannot hold a candle to my wifes Grandmother's cooking. She can throw something together in a few minutes better than their dishes.

Its hard to go to Italian restraunts when you have an Italian family.

[stuartj]

Better get used to. The Stelvin closure (screw cap) is preferred by winemakers, even on high end wines. Although, winemakers are a little divided on the unknown effects of Stelvins (or non effects) in determining the long term character of wines made to cellar.

But- most wine is consumed immediately on purchase, and little is made to lie down. Cork taint is generally regarded to affect one bottle in a dozen. Many people cant detect mild, or even severe cork taint. There are three grades of cork, and only the best wines, made to be cellared, get the good grade.

As someone who does cellar wine, Im happy to see the Stelvin closure being used. One of my favorites has just bottled there new premium release under Stelvin, and wrote to all their customers expalining why they were doing it. If its good for industry, and improves the prospects for long term cellaring, its all good for wine lovers.

I agree tho, it does suck cracking a screw cap off a lovely dusty bottle of Shiraz. And it will some time before we see something lke a Grange Hermitage under stelvin or synthetic cork.

[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.

[VaSteve]

A local guy, who's a prolific writer and drinks a lot of wine talked about wine on our local board. Interesting what the cork actually does:

I was thinking about the whole box/screw top/cork thing.

Wine is alive.

Much like a woman, wine has a specific "age" during which it is enjoyable. Too young, and it will be too much like grapejuice . . . not mature enough, not sophisticated or layered, and way too giggly. Too old, and it begins to go flat and chalky. Yuuucchchhh.

The primary aging factor for wine is air. Air is the necessary component to allow the wine to continue matureing. Wine is designed to be enjoyed during a certain timeframe. Some wine is made for immediate drinking. Other wine is made for drinking 10,20,30 or even 40 or more years later. In order to survive longer, more "food" must be included in the wine. The "food" doesn't taste very good, which is why an excellent wine can be pretty bad if you drink it too young.

The cork is a mechanism by which the wine gets air very slowly, which is perfect for wines that are meant to age for a number of years. A cork is totally unnecesary for wines that you want to drink now . . . they are already at the right age so they don't need more air to mature . . . but you better drink it soon because it can't breathe.

So, that's why you can get good wines with screwtops, plastic corks and in boxes. It was made to be enjoyed now, so provided that you drink it now, you will be fine.

Since wine ages with air, a great tip to make young, cheaper wines taste far better is to decant them . . . expose them to a lot of air and let them breathe for as long as possible. The same also works for more mature wines, but you really need to be careful because if the wine is on the very mature side, the extra air can kill it. I tried a 1918 bordeaux that was ok when first opened, but after 15-20 minutes the air killed it the rest of the way off . . . bleechhh.

[dhoward]

Heh heh, heh heh... He said "taint".... heh heh....